Shining Swordsman of Halkeginia
by ChaliceJoker
Summary: With the corruption of Reverse far too etched into his body, Blaster Blade had to be killed. However, what happens when a certain pinkette summons his spirit, giving him another chance at life? Will he be able to conquer the horrors of his past or will he fall into darkness once more? Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Darkness...

It was dark. I couldn't see anything nor feel or hear. But I did feel a heavy weight on my heart knowing what had happened. The memories and images were still fresh in my mind. The sight of my friends' blood on my hands still shook my very core. Then, as I pleaded to my best friend to end it all, he raised his sword...

I had died.

So this is death? Then I must be on my way to hell then. What I have done cannot be undone and the lives I took would never return. I was beyond redemption.

Somehow, I felt myself grin as I accepted my fate. I was prepared to take responsibility and pay for my crimes. But then, something spoke into my mind.

"**I beg of you…"**

Is that… a girl's voice?

"**My servant that exists in the vast universe…. Heed my call, I wish from the bottom of my heart…."**

Servant? What's going on?

"**Answer to my guidance and appear!"**

Suddenly, life was breathed back to my senses and an intense light illuminated around me. I had to shield my eyes from the sheer brightness and I was soon engulfed completely by it.

I was met by the rays of the sun and smoke all around me. Waving the smoke out of my face, the first thing I noticed were the people that surrounded me. They all looked young and were dressed in similar outfits. I must have ended up in some type of school. The mana in the air was very rich and the students radiated magic, signaling that they were mages. What caught my attention was the young girl in front of me. She was very short, barely half my height and had long pink hair. Her face was red and had a shocked expression. I was confused at this when I looked down to see what was making her blush.

Not only was my armor gone, I was stark naked. At my feet was the Blaster Blade which I was relieved to see. It was a part of me and don't know what I would do without it.

"W-Who are you?!" she demanded.

I was silent as I studied her. She differed from the other students as her magical aura was more potent. I couldn't quite tell what it was.

"Answer my question, commoner! What are you doing here? And why are you naked?! Have you no shame in the presence of nobles?!"

Nobles? All of these kids were nobles? I've never heard of a place where nobility gather around a naked person.

"Ha! As expected from Louise the Zero!"

"Of all things, she summoned a commoner for a familiar! Hahaha!"

"She even blew off the commoner's clothes!"

"Sh-Shut up!" The girl identified to be Louise shouted. "Mr. Colbert, this has to be some kind of mistake! Allow me to try again!" A bald man with glasses stepped forward. From the looks of him and what Louise said, he must have been the teacher.

"I cannot allow that." He said as he shook his head. "This is a sacred ceremony that determines a mage's life. If I allow you to redo it, it would be a great insult. Besides, it is forbidden. You have no choice but to take him as your familiar."

Wait, familiar? That's what this is about? I've never heard of summoning a human being for a familiar.

A girl from the crowd of students walked up to Louise. She had long red hair and was fairly tall with tanned skin. Her body was rather well developed for someone her age and she had a smug look on her face.

"This makes all you said worth it! I would never have guessed you would have summoned a commoner for a familiar! And a naked one at that!"

"Y-You shut up Kirche!" Louise stammered. "It was just a little screw up!"

"A little? You mean like your other "little screw ups" that nearly blew up the school?" The students began laughing at her while Louise turned to the teacher called Colbert.

"Professor Colbert! I've never heard of a commoner as a familiar! Why do I have to take him?"

"There's a first time for everything. Commoner or not, he is your familiar. Now hurry up and continue the ceremony."

"…Yes sir…" Louise said as she hanged her head in defeat. Apparently summoning a person as a familiar is uncommon around here as well. Although the fact that they kept calling me "commoner" was beginning to irritate me. It reminded too much of the snobbish brats back in the United Sanctuary. They thought the townsfolk were like slaves to them and they could do whatever they want to them. Even the way they talk about commoners is the same.

Louise turned to me, still blushing at my naked form.

"B-Be thankful for this! Normally a noble would never do this with a commoner!" she said. What was she planning to do?

"Kneel down, you are too tall commoner."

I was unsure but I still complied and knelt down at eye level with her.

"Pentagon that rules the five powers, bless this individual and make him my familiar!" Once she finished those words, she leaned forward kissed me on the lips. I was taken by surprise and quickly pushed her away.

"What are you doing?" I asked. Engaging in such actions with little girls like her was not okay with me.

At that moment, I began to have a burning sensation through my body and I could feel something being etched into the back of my left hand. Wincing, I looked over to find strange letters being engraved into my skin. When it was done, Colbert walked up to me and inspected my hand with great interest.

"These are interesting runes indeed…" He pondered. He then reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out a cloak.

"It's not good for someone to stand naked in the presence of so many people." he said. I nodded in agreement and took the cloak.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Colbert said with a smile. He seemed nice enough, unlike the stuck up brats that surrounded us. Colbert then turned to the students.

"This concludes the summoning ceremony. Please return to your dormitories and get some rest. Tomorrow is yours to bond with your familiars."

He then chanted some words and began to float in the air. The students soon followed and the crowd dispersed, leaving me and the girl Louise. She then came up to me angrily.

"Come familiar! We're going back to the Academy!" She huffed. "And you need clothes! I can't have my familiar walking around naked with only a cloak!"

I said nothing as I followed her with the Blaster Blade in hand. I needed answers and she can give them. Where was I? And why was I summoned to be a familiar?

I had a feeling that I would be in for a rough time here.


	2. Chapter 2

"Of all things I had to summon, why did I get some commoner with a sword?!"

We were back at the Academy that Louise and the other students attended. Upon arrival I was quickly given actual clothes to wear. They were quite worn and looked like a beggar's clothes, but it was better than being naked.

"Well? Aren't you going to say something, commoner?!" Louise demanded.

"Where am I?" I simply said. Taken back a little by my voice, and the fact I towered over her at nearly six feet tall with my ever present scowl, she replied.

"You are at the Tristain Academy of Magic."

Tristain? I never heard of a place like that on Cray.

"Tristain? Where is that?"

Louise looked at me like I was crazy.

"How do you not know of Tristain on the continent Halkeginia? What are you, a foreigner?"

As a matter of fact actually. There's no such place like that on Cray so I must not be on Cray anymore. That makes things more complicated.

"Yes. Until now, I've never set foot on this land nor heard of it." I said.

"Great, not only is my familiar a commoner, but a foreigner of some other land." Louise sighed. "So? Who are you? Do you have a name, commoner?"

"Amos." I replied. My title Blaster Blade felt too strange to have as my name so I decided to tell her my real name. Not many know my real name, as Blaster Blade eventually grew to be it.

"Amos? 'Bearer of burden'? Such a peasant name indeed…" Louise sighed. "With that sword of yours I thought you'd be some warrior with a better name than that."

"I am."

"Huh?"

"I am a warrior. And I am proud of my name. I bear the burden of the weak and oppressed, so that they may go forward free from limitations."

"Hmph. For a mercenary you act like some royal knight."

If only she knew. Well, I wasn't a knight of the United Sanctuary any longer considering I was Reversed and killed my comrades. I was anything but royal.

"Anyway, you are now my familiar and your duty is to serve your master. Start with getting my clothes washed." She said before tossing me her clothes.

"Servant? A Familiar is supposed to aid their summoner in their magic as well as be their guardian, are they not?" I asked. Since when were a mage's life partner also their slave?

"That's right but you are clearly a commoner and therefore you are a servant to me, a noble. Now hurry up or you won't get any dinner tonight, commoner." she said before shooing me away. I sighed as I left the room, still coming to terms that a warrior like myself has been reduced to servant duties.

I made my way downstairs only to realize that I have no idea where to get these clothes washed. Looking around, I found a maid who was sweeping the halls. She looked young and had chin length black hair and eyes.

"Excuse me." I called. The maid jumped in surprise at my voice.

"Ah yes, how may I help you?" She curtsied.

"Where can I get these washed?"

"Oh allow me. It's my job after all." she replied. I shook my head.

"I was asked to do so by my master and I shall carry out her orders." I may not have liked it, but I still had my honor. Plus something was compelling me to obey but I couldn't figure out what it was.

She gasped in surprise.

"Oh! Are you the familiar that Miss Valliere summoned?" she asked.

"Yes. My name is Amos." I confirmed.

"I'm Siesta. So your name means 'Bearer of burden'?"

"One that I wear with pride."

"I think it's a wonderful name." she said with a smile.

She led me to the washroom and we continued to chat as we did our chores. During our talk I learned that nobility came with the ability to do magic which made me sick. This meant that the nobles thought they were superior and could do anything they want the with common people. There's no one to stop them and there are surely many who are oppressed without justice. Siesta agreed with me but said that there's nothing they could do about it. When it came down to it, the nobles had power and the common folk did not and would easily be killed if they were to go against them. It pained me to see her talk about this because I could tell that she was a victim of such oppression.

Finished with the clothes, I bode Siesta goodnight and returned to Louise's room to find her asleep. I looked in the corner to find a pile of hay. At least I wouldn't be sleeping on the floor.

_The next day..._

I woke up early that morning in time to wake up Louise. It was only right due to my new status as her Familiar/servant. Students shouldn't be late to class.

"Hey, wake up. You'll be late to class." I said as I shook her lightly. Her eyes stirred and slowly opened. Still in a daze, she turned her head at me.

"Munya…?" she moaned. Munya? What a strange noise to make. Slowly, she sat up and rubbed her eyes from the morning sun. She looked at me in surprise before having a look of recognition.

"Oh right. I summoned you." Seriously? How can you forget something important like that?

She got off the bed and held her arms out like she was expecting something from me.

"Dress me familiar." she commanded.

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"No noble will dress themselves when there is a servant present. Now hurry up or I'll be late to class."

I sighed in defeat and did as I was told. This was still awkward since I was over ten years her senior, servant or not but then again she didn't see me as a person.

Satisfied, Louise headed for the door.

"Come, we are going to get something to eat." She beckoned. I grabbed the Blaster Blade and hung it over my back as I followed.

The dining hall was quite grand. There were even outside tables in the case of huge familiars owned by the other students. Some had strange looking creatures that reminded me of the Dark Zone and others from the forests of Zoo.

Louise took a seat outside and I sat down on the ground. The seats were apparently for nobles only. At this point, I wasn't surprised that everything revolved around the nobles. It was the way this world worked. Who ran this country anyway? If they were corrupt just as I imagined then I may just take it upon myself to do something about. There was no way I was going to sit by and watch innocent people suffer and the thumb of these so called nobles.

When Louise's food came, the servant laid down a plate for me as well. It was single loaf of bread that looked like it was sitting out for a few days. I looked up at Louise in disbelief.

"Be thankful you are getting to even eat bread made for nobles!" she huffed in arrogance.

I said nothing despite my mild irritation and ate in silence. I glanced over at the other tables and noticed a young blonde boy talking with a girl who was also blonde. If I recalled, he was with another girl last night. I passed by them right before I met with Siesta. Flirting with her no less. As if on que, said girl walked around and came to the table me and Louise were at.

"Excuse me…" She asked.

"What do you want, Katie?" asked Louise.

"You're… the girl that the blonde boy was with last night." I remarked. She turned to me in surprise.

"Oh! Do you happen to know where Sir Guiche is?" Guiche was his name huh. This player was about to get a dose of reality.

"Yes, he's over there." I said as I pointed to where he sat with the blonde girl. The girl named Katie looked devastated when she saw the boy with another girl. She hurriedly went over to them with tears already welling out of her eyes.

"S-Sir Guiche?" Guiche nearly jumped out of his seat at the sight of Katie.

"K-Katie?! How did you know I was here?" He exclaimed in cold sweat.

"Louise's familiar told me. So it was true then that you were dating another girl?" she asked in a cracked voice. Guiche's face paled and he began to panic.

"Uhhhh no no no! This is some misunderstanding!" The blonde girl that was sitting next to him stood up in anger.

"So it was true that you were seeing a first year!" she yelled.

"Montmorency! Please, I can explain!" Rather than giving him a chance to do so, Katie and Montmorency slapped him in the face and both took off in tears and in rage. Recovering, he glared over at me.

"You! Zero's familiar!" All eyes were now on Guiche and me.

"Thanks to you, the reputation of two lovely ladies have been damaged. How are you going to take responsibility?!" My eyes narrowed. How much more conceited can this brat get?

"Boy, you clearly do not see the fault in your actions. Any sane person would know that cheating a lover is a most dishonorable thing. You call yourself noble? There is nothing noble about pinning the blame on someone else rather than taking responsibility for their own actions."

Guiche was clearly taken back by this, as he had trouble coming up with a response to my undeniable truth.

"Ha! He's got you there Guiche!"

"A commoner just lectured Guiche! Can you believe it?"

Guiche clenched his fists angrily from the insults hurled at him. He pointed the rose he was holding at me.

"That's it! I challenge you to a duel!" This shut up the crowd from their mockery and audible gasps sounded the courtyard. Louise stood up from her seat.

"Hold it Guiche! You know duels are forbidden!"

"Only between nobles. But with a familiar who is a commoner? It's fair game."

A duel? Interesting. I was curious to see how well the magic of this world held up to the magic I'm used to back on Cray. This is also an opportunity to put these so called "nobles" in their place.

"Very well, I accept." Louise's eyes shot up to the size of saucers.

"WHAT?! Are you crazy! Swordsman or not, a mere commoner cannot hope to defeat a noble!"

"Enough!" Guiche interrupted. "He has accepted and therefore the duel shall take place! In one hour, come to Vestri Court. We shall duel there." With a flip of his cape, he left. So corny. Did he really think he was that big of a deal? I'm going to enjoy putting him down.

"What are you doing Amos?!" Siesta panicked as she pushed her way through the crowd.

"Simple, I'm going to put that brat in his place."

"You're going to get killed!" she exclaimed. "A commoner can't defeat a noble!"

"Is that what you believe? That I don't have even a small chance?" I asked in a confident voice.

"W-Well…" She stammered. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Trust me and watch."I assured her. Louise was silent the whole time as she watched me and Siesta and finally spoke up.

"You are not going through with this! We are going to apologize right now!" She grabbed my hand to pull me but failed.

"Master, do you not trust my abilities?"

"Huh? You are just some swordsman while Guiche has magic! Of course I don't!"

Just a swordsman? Oh no, I was much more than that. I gave her a small smirk.

"I'm not just a mere swordsman."


	3. Chapter 3

_Back at the Tristain Academy of Magic..._

Colbert ran frantically down the halls of the school carrying a book tucked under his arm until he came to a door labeled "Headmaster's Office" above the frame.

"Old Osmond!" Colbert cried out as he burst into the room. Sitting down at a desk at on the other side of the room was an elderly man with a long beard. At a desk on another side of the office was a woman who had green hair tied in a ponytail and wore glasses. This was Miss Longueville and she is Osmond's secretary. Osmond raised an eyebrow.

"What is it, Colbert?" he asked.

"I have big news! Take a look at this!" Colbert went up to Osmond's desk and slammed down the book to show Osmond the page he was on. The text was written in Halkeginian. On the page were enlarged letters that were seen on Amos's hand.

"So? What's so important about old texts like this?" Colbert shook his head. "You know I've read this book before."

"No no no! Look at these runes! They are the same ones on Miss Valliere's familiar!" Osmond looked at the page again and his eyes narrowed. He was no stranger when it came to the Founder Brimir and his history. The Founder's Familiar was well known among historians and is a topic that has been covered extensively. If what Colbert said was true, then this could only mean...

"Miss Longueville, could you please excuse us?" Miss Longueville politely bowed and exited the room. Osmond turned back to Colbert.

"Start from the beginning. What is the meaning of this?"

_Meanwhile, back at Vestri Court…_

I arrived at Vestri Court at the designated time to find Guiche already there with a large crowd gathered. Even that Kirche girl was there along with a short blue haired girl reading a book. I remember seeing her around and that she isn't the talkative type. Reminded me of myself back in my days as a recruit. Guiche let out a laugh as I stepped into the makeshift ring.

"I must commend you for not running away!" Guiche mocked. I sighed at his arrogance. Just hearing his voice was enough to anger me.

"What are the terms of this duel?" I asked. Guiche flipped his hair, making me roll my eyes.

"The first to surrender or to be knocked unconscious loses." He stated. Simple enough.

"Very well." I said as my hand went to my Blaster Blade on my back. The question now is which method do I want to win by?

Back in the crowd Louise and Siesta had concerned looks on their faces.

"Please be safe, Amos." Siesta whispered to herself. On the other side of the crowd was Louise.

"That idiot. What is he thinking?!" She muttered to herself.

Guiche raised his rose and struck a pose.

"My name is Guiche de Gramont and my runic name is "The Bronze"." Guiche stated with a hint of arrogance. "My Valkyries shall make short work of you, commoner!"

He waved his rose and dropped a rose petal on the ground. A light surrounded it before it transformed into a bronze statue about his height. It was feminine in structure and held a lance made of bronze.

"My name is Amos." I said. Hearing this, Guiche burst out laughing.

"Ha! "Bearer of burden?" Such a fitting name for a commoner!" When he said this, other people began to laugh with him. I had enough of listening to this boy.

"Not a commoner," I growled as I stabbed the Blaster Blade in the ground at my feet.

"A Royal Paladin."

An intense light emanated from the Blaster Blade that engulfed my whole body, hiding my transformation. Everyone shielded their eyes from the intense light and there were gasps and murmurs about how I was doing this.

"W-What is this?!" Guiche gawked.

"A-Amos?" Siesta and Louise whispered at the same time. Within my veil of light, I could feel the power flowing through me. Slowly, my form grew bigger and bulkier as I felt my armor appear. I then gripped the Blaster Blade and sliced across the light surrounding me, tearing it apart to reveal my transformation.

**[Insert – Tachiagare! Boku no Bunshin!]**

I wore a dark blue body suit with light blue streamlines running down my sides and my limbs. My body was clad in shining, spiky white armor that sported the same light blue streamlines. My helmet stuck up at the sides, giving me a regal and somewhat menacing appearance due to the resemblance to horns. At the center of the helmet was a large red crystal right above my eyes. This same crystal was also on my chest and waist armor.

All the students who witnessed my transformation gasped in shock and Guiche was shaking quite a bit. Louise was by far, the most shocked of all.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-Whaaaaaat?!" she screeched as she pointed at me.

"H-He's a mage knight!" One student said.

"He said he was a "Royal Paladin" or something!"

"Impossible!"

Ignoring the comments about me, I looked over at Guiche who was now shaking and sweating. He must have thought he picked a fight with a high ranking soldier or noble. Not that I blame him, they had just witnessed something magical from a person they thought was a commoner.

"W-Who are you?" He managed to say.

I stabbed the Blaster Blade at my feet.

"The Sword and Defender of the Weak, Blaster Blade."

The crowd repeated after me, "Blaster Blade?"

I then pointed my sword at Guiche, leering at him.

"You nobles think you can do whatever you want simply because you have magic. There is nothing noble about you for all I see is an arrogant brat with a flower. It's time you learned your place."

Guiche swallowed and took a step back. He appeared to be weighing his options: Surrender and avoid a fight with another noble or fight and possibly get hurt.

Finally, he made his decision.

"You think you can defeat me? _I'll _show you! Attack, my Valkyrie!"

The golem charged forward and thrust its lance at me. It was quicker than I expected it to be but it was nothing that I couldn't handle for I faced much quicker opponents.

Suddenly, energy was welling up inside me. It was strange because I never felt this good while in battle before. I felt as if I could fight the entire Dragon Nation by myself. I focused back on the Valkyrie attacking me only to see that it appeared to be moving in slow motion. This confused me because it was moving quicker before I this energy rush. Could it be the reason why?

There was no time to think. I side-stepped the Valkyrie easily and slashed across its torso, easily cleaving it in half. I swung the dust off my blade as the Valkyrie fell lifelessly on the ground.

"Is that all?" I taunted. Guiche panicked and swung his rose frantically, dropping more rose petals which summoned five more Valkyries. Some had swords and shields instead of just a lance.

"I-I'm not done yet!" he said in desperation. I sighed tiredly. It was time to end this.

"It's over. Stand down already."

I raised my sword and stabbed the ground at my feet. Energy flowed from my sword and crackled along the ground at the Valkyries. Upon contact, the Valkyries disintegrated into nothing one by one. Guiche was flabbergasted at his army being decimated in the blink of an eye. He knew that he had lost and was only delaying the inevitable. He fell back onto his butt from fear.

"I-I yield! I yield!" he cried.

The crowd was silent before going into an uproar at my display. At the corner of my eye I could see that Kirche girl with an impressed look on her face and the normally nonchalant blue haired girl with her had a somewhat surprised look on her face. Siesta looked like she had stars in her eyes and Louise was gaping at me.

_Back in the office…_

Osmond, Colbert and Longueville sat there in shock at the display of power shown by Louise's familiar. Word of the duel had reached them and they decided to watch, hoping to see the power of the familiar with the runes they were discussing about. What they saw far exceeded their expectations.

"W-What did we just see?" Colbert managed to say.

"A mage knight if I'm correct. To think Miss Valliere summoned a high ranking soldier like him as a familiar…"

"Y-Yes, it's incredible." Longueville stammered. Osmond nodded in agreement.

"I think we will be seeing much more from him later on this year."


	4. Chapter 4

"You have some explaining to do, Amos!" Louise screeched. She was still in disbelief at my display and the sight of my armor. I can't blame her since she honestly thought I was just some swordsman she picked up off the street. Anyone who summoned what could be a high ranking soldier would probably go crazy.

"Alright, I'll explain everything. Let's go somewhere else though, I'd rather not let other people know."

Siesta came up to us.

"I'm coming too." she said.

"Who are you?" Louise asked.

"I'm Siesta milady. I work as a maid here."

"It's fine Master, I trust her." I told her. She looked unsure but appeared to be okay with it.

We ended up back in Louise's room with Siesta accompanying us. I was back in my civilian clothes with the Blaster Blade gripped in my right hand with my left arm resting on my leg as I sat.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"You know what it is! Why didn't you tell me you were a mage knight?!" Louise yelled.

"I'm not a mage knight. I'm just a swordsman."

"No mere swordsman can use magic! You must be some noble _disguised _as a commoner!"

"I'm not a noble. As for my magic, I can explain."

It took a while but Louise finally calmed down a bit and sat back in her chair.

"I'll start with who I am and where I am from. My name is Amos and I hail from a kingdom known as the United Sanctuary."

Louise had a puzzled look on her face.

"United Sanctuary? I've never heard of that kingdom before."

"Of course you haven't. It's on another continent." I lied. I thought this through before I decided to tell her about myself. Revealing everything about me and about Cray would be too much for her to handle and would be unbelievable overall.

"The United Sanctuary is a kingdom of light with a monarchical system. The ruler is the King of Knights, Alfred who is also the general of the main army: The Royal Paladins."

The last part of my statement rung a bell in Louise's mind.

"Wait, you said you were a "Royal Paladin"..." she said. I nodded in confirmation.

"That's right. I am a former member of the Royal Paladins and was the most high ranking soldier, second only to Alfred."

"Former?" Siesta asked. I looked down at the floor with my blue hair covering my eyes.

"I... would rather not talk about that." I said grimly.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean too-" I raised my hand and stopped her mid-sentence.

"It's okay, let me continue."

"So you're an elite knight." Louise said. "How is it that you can use magic?"

I held the Blaster Blade forward.

"It's because of my sword, the Blaster Blade. It can turn my courage into power."

"It turns courage into power? I that even possible?" asked Louise.

"The Blaster Blade is a national treasure in the United Sanctuary, wielded only by the greatest heroes in its history. Due to the great amount of courage required to activate, few can ever hope to wield it, much less touch it. I was able to do it."

Siesta recalled something.

"Back at the duel, you called yourself 'Blaster Blade'. Why call yourself your sword's name?"

"Due to the sword's fame, anyone who is able to wield it eventually get tagged with the name 'Blaster Blade' as a title."

"I get it. So you yourself cannot perform magic. Instead, you use a magical weapon in order to perform magical feats." Louise analyzed.

"That is correct. That is why I kept telling you that I am no noble. I am just a swordsman who uses his sword for the weak."

Guilt began to well up in Louise. She had summoned a powerful knight like Amos but she had pulled him away from his homeland and friends. With how unknown the United Sanctuary was who knows if Amos would be able to find his way back.

I stood up from my seat.

"I think that's enough for today. You have class tomorrow and I'm sure you have duties to attend to, Siesta?"

"Yes, I must return to the servants' quarters." said Siesta. "It was an honor to learn so much about you, Sir Amos."

I put a had on her shoulder and gave her a small smile.

"Please, there's no need to do that. Just call me Amos like you've been."

She shook her head.

"But you are such a high ranking soldier! I can't possibly…"

She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the intense glare I gave her.

"Y-Yes! I understand…. Amos." Siesta said before taking her leave. I turned back to Louise.

"Now then, you should get ready for bed. You have class in the morning." Louise broke from her trance and looked up at me. She looked... guilty.

"Amos, um,..." she began before looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I questioned.

"I took you away from your home and your friends with probably no hope of getting back. If I hadn't summoned you, then you'd still be with them..."

My eyes widened as I absorbed what she had just told me. Images of the battle with my friends flashed again before me. I could see myself cut them down with no remorse up until I had met with the same fate at the hands of my best friend. I believed that my actions were unforgivable and that I deserved to die. But when Louise summoned me, it was like I was given another chance at life. To everyone on Cray, I was dead. Yet, here I am talking about my past deeds of justice when blood is on my hands. My life on Cray was over and now I here am living in another world.

"You don't have to apologize Master." I assured her. "Don't worry about and just go to sleep."

"But-" I glared at her the same way I did with Siesta.

"O-Okay..." Smiling at her, I patted her on the head which made her blush. I turned to go prepare for retiring for the night when she spoke up again.

"Louise." she said. "Call me Louise."

I faced back at her.

"Very well, Louise."

_The next day..._

That morning, Louise and I were headed over to her classroom. I decided to wear my armor since practically every student knew about it at this point. Plus I figured it would stop any further mockery against Louise. It was tiring to hear and I couldn't stand watching her get picked on.

We entered the classroom and made our way over to her seat. While Louise sat, I stood next to her with the Blaster Blade's tip on the ground, holding both my hands on the end of the hilt. Meanwhile, I could feel the other students' eyes on me.

"Look! It's Louise's familiar!" One boy said.

"Did you hear? He beat Guiche in a duel today. It was completely one-sided." Another said.

"I hear he's a knight from a far-away land!"

"He looks so dashing in that armor!" A girl said.

"Truly a knight in shining armor!"

I had to resist the urge to slap myself in the face at the attention I was getting from the girls. I had enough of that every time I had to go the Angel Feather hospitals for treatment.

"Settle down, class will now begin." said an older woman at the front of the class. She appeared to be middle-aged and was a bit overweight. She wore a pointed cap and a cape that went down to her feet.

I found the class very informative, learning about the different types of mages and the elements. The fifth element, Void, caught me by surprise. I was glad to learn that it wasn't the same Void that had attacked Cray. It appeared to be a powerful type of magic of the people here regarded it highly.

The teacher, Professor Chevreuse, was now showing transmutation. She laid out three pebbles on the desk and with a wave of her wand and an incantation, turned them into bronze.

"Now, I would like someone else to try." She looked around and stopped her gaze onto Louise.

"Ms. Valliere, would you please give us a demonstration?"

The other students panicked at her choice. Kirche spoke up.

"Uh, Professor Chevreuse! You really shouldn't let her do it! She's a-!"

"Not another word! If I hear anyone call her that name again I will turn their teeth into bronze!" the older woman replied sharply. "This spell is extremely simple and I doubt that even Ms. Valliere can fail this, even with her difficulty in casting spells. Now, if you would please then Ms. Valliere?"

Louise nodded as she went to the front of the room. Meanwhile everyone in the class began to chant while others hid under their desks. When Louise reached the front, she took out her wand and began to chant.

I watched her as she chanted. I was well aware of her nickname, "Zero", but I had yet to see exactly why in person. I heard that she makes things explode but isn't that still magic?

A huge spike in magical energy alerted me out of my thoughts. The pebbles began to shake violently like they were about to explode. I braced myself before a huge explosion filled the classroom. Smoke quickly filled the air and debris from the desks flew everywhere. Luckily, I summoned a small barrier to protect myself that also covered some other students. The others weren't so lucky.

The room was in shambles and at the center of it all was Louise who was covered in soot and dust. Her hair was messed up from the explosion as well.

"This always happens," Kirche huffed as she came up to me with the blue haired girl, which I learned was Tabitha, behind her. "No matter what spell she does, it always turns out like this."

Every spell? Isn't that a bit much? Even though Marron had his problems even the simplest of spells were easy to cast.

"I guess I made a little mistake this time." Lousie coughed. Her classmates didn't agree.

"A little?! You call this 'a little?!'"

"Just give up and go home already! Your success rate is zero! That's why you are Louise the Zero!"

"Your familiar was probably summoned to protect us from you, Zero!" I glared at the one who said that.

"I don't protect people like you." I said coldly, making the other students step back in fear. I stepped down to the front and brushed the dust off Louise a bit. I looked at the time which was a quarter til noon.

"Come, let's get you cleaned up. While we're at it, let's get something to eat."

Louise stayed silent and nodded on confirmation. She was shaking slightly and I could tell that she was on the verge of breaking out in tears.

After cleaning her up, we went down to the dining hall. Louise took her seat while I had gone to the kitchen since Siesta called me over. I met with the head chef named Marteau who gladly welcomed me and began serving me several plates of food. I was glad to finally eat some real food, especially after having only that stale piece of bread from yesterday.

"This is very good, thank you." I said. Marteau gave a hearty laugh.

"Only the best for Our Sword!" he grinned. He had gotten word of the way I stood up to Guiche from Siesta. I'm not sure what Siesta told him about me, but it seemed to have gotten me on his good side.

"You should have heard him, chef! 'I am the Sword and Defender of the Weak!'" one of his coworkers acted out.

"Our little Siesta here talks highly of you! Not only that, you knocked off that arrogant blonde brat off his high horse! You're the pride of us commoners: Our Sword!"

Our Sword, huh? It was different to say the least to have a name other than Blaster Blade given to me.

"I only did what was right. Those so called nobles anger me. Someone needed to put them in their place."

"You see? Truly the champion of the people! A master never boasts about his skills!" Marteau said to his coworkers. He turned back to me.

"Anyway, feel free to stop by whenever you're hungry! I'll cook you up something nice! I like to think of it as _my _magic!"

"Being able to create things that bring a smile to people is magic in of itself. Feel proud that you can do what the nobles here can't."

Marteau blinked a few times at me before he had burst into tears.

"Ooohhh! You are so kind! I'm so happy I could kiss you!"

I shoved him away in disgust.

"Don't please."

The other workers burst into laughter while Marteau sat on the ground now crying from my rejection. I looked over at Siesta who flashed me a smile of appreciation. To be surrounded by so many smiles after all the pain and to be accepted despite what I had done was a new feeling altogether.

This felt... good.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Here's the chapter as promised. For those who are curious I'll be following the anime plot since I haven't read the light novels. Anyway, enough about me. Enjoy the next chapter.**

Chapter 5

After finishing my meal, I accompanied Louise on the rest of the day's classes. They were uneventful for the most part due to the fact that they weren't magic classes. It turns out that this school still taught things like history and math despite magic being the main focus. Louise showed great proficiency in all subjects much to my surprise. She was a great and diligent student and it made me happy to know that she was talented in things other than casting spells.

I was headed back to her room that night when I was met by a red salamander at the end of the hall. It appeared to have been waiting for me since it woke up from its slumber upon my arrival. I remember seeing it before and quickly deduced who its master was. It belonged to that dark skinned, red haired girl named Kirche. She seemed to be the most prominent person in insulting Louise and was the first to call her Zero. The question now was:

"What's it doing here?" I said to myself. Kirche's room was in another dormitory section so there was no reason for it to be here at this hour.

The only answer I got was when it came up to my leg and began to tug at my pants. I was currently wearing an outfit similar to the student uniform with enough differences to let others know I wasn't a student here. After my talk with Louise and Siesta the other day Louise ordered a brand new set of clothes for me. Did she really feal that guilty about taking me away from Cray? In any case, they were much better than the rags I wore when I first arrived here.

"Do you want me to follow you?" I asked the salamander. It let out a small cry before taking off on its own.

I followed it until I ended up in another dorm section. The salamander then led me to one of the rooms. Must be Kirche's. What did she want with me? Curious, I opened the door and entered. It was dimly lit with only a few candles burning. On the other side of the room was Kirche dressed in only a frilly, purple nightgown which left a lot of skin to be shown.

"Welcome, Amos." She said. When did she learn my name?

"Kirche, what is the meaning of this?" I asked.

"You remember my name, I'm so flattered!" she squealed in delight. Kirche then walked up to me and pressed herself on my chest. She made sure that her large breasts were pressed up against me as well.

"Let me reintroduce myself. I am Kirche von Anhalt Zerbst, and my runic name is 'The Ardent'. Therefore, I tend to burn like a torch…" She said seductively.

"….I see." I said indifferently to her." Honestly, how did it even come to this? First of all, she's too young for me. Second, I am quite frankly not interested in women of her type.

Kirche looked at me in slightly narrowed eyes.

"You still don't understand? I'm in love with you." Kirche said while taking my hands in hers. "Love always comes so suddenly. The way you fought Guiche was truly remarkable. And that armor of yours… It was like my knight in shining armor was there to sweep me off my feet! The sight of it made me go from 'The Ardent' to 'The Passionate'…."

Great, another fan girl taking their crush to the next level. I had to end this now before it gets out of hand. Before I could do so, a boy around her age with large sideburns came in through the window.

"Kirche!" he said in shock. How long has he been there?

"Styx!" cried Kirche.

"I came because you didn't show up at our promised time. What are you doing with him?!" he said as he pointed his finger angrily at me.

"Not right now Styx. I'll meet you later two hours from now."

"That's not the deal we had!"

Annoyed, Kirche grabbed her wand and waved it which made the candle flames in the room grow in size. She then directed them at Styx which sent him flying into the night. She turned back to me.

"Please excuse the interruption. That was just a friend." She said with a straight face. Just a friend? That boy was clearly someone under your thumb. You're just a seductress who thinks she can get any man she wants with her looks. You got another thing coming for you, girl.

"As I was saying, the one I love the most is-"

"Kirche!"

Suddenly, another boy with long blonde hair was at the window.

"Who is that man? Tonight, I want you to burn up with me in b-"

He never got to finish as Kirche launched a fireball at him, sending him unconscious.

"Another friend?" I mused.

"That's right." Kirche replied. "In any case, the night is short and I don't want to waste any more time!"

As if on que, Kirche was interrupted yet again. This time, there were THREE boys at the window, each fighting over each other.

"Kirche! What are you doing?! You said you didn't have any particular lover!" they said in unison. Just how many boys did this girl bring into her room at night? It almost made me sick that a girl of her age was prancing around like a prostitute.

"Manica! Ajax! Gimly! Uh, how about I see you three in six hours from now?"

"That's morning already!" they replied at the same time. Kirche heaved a sigh in frustration.

"Flame!" Immediately, her salamander familiar unleashed a large breath of fire, sending the three boys away in flames.

"Now that that's taken care of, let us burn the night away, Amos!" she cried out in lust. As she leaned in to try and kiss me, I pushed her away abruptly.

"While I am flattered that you hold such affection for me, I must apologize for being unable to return it."

Kirche paled.

"W-What…?" she weakly said.

"You are a beautiful girl, Kirche." I started. "However, I cannot bring myself to love someone over ten years my junior. Not only that, I could never love someone who goes around spending nights in so many boys' beds."

With that said, I swiftly left. Kirche was left speechless as she stood there like a statue.

I made my way back to Louise's room to find her standing at the door with an unamused look on her face.

"Where were you?" she asked. "Do you realize what time it is?"

"I was at the room of the girl named Kirche." I said.

"WHAT?!" Louise screeched. I winced at the high pitch she managed to reach. "WHAT WERE YOU DOING WITH THAT WOMAN?!"

"Louise, please stop yelling and let me explain." I said trying to calm her down. While she did stop yelling, she was still giving me a dirty glare.

"I hope you have a good reason why you were in her room." She growled.

"She had her Salamander lead me to her. I didn't know what she was up to until I met up with her. She attempted to seduce me but I quickly declined and rejected her when she said that she loved me."

"I KNEW IT! YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER LOWLY DOG WHO-" she stopped mid-sentence.

"Wait, what?"

Wincing from her second outburst, I said, "I rejected her advances on me."

That seemed to catch her attention. She stayed silent as she was processing what I had just said. Finally, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, I was afraid that you were just another man seduced by a Zerbst." Louise said.

"Why are you so hateful towards Kirche?" I asked. She glared out the window.

"My family, the Vallieres and the Zerbsts are archrivals. It's a disgrace to my family of anything gets taken by a Zerbst." She explained. While it was understandable, it was still childish to me.

I then remembered something that I was meaning to ask Louise.

"By the way, I noticed something strange back with my duel with Guiche."

Louise looked puzzled.

"What was strange?" she asked.

"As you know, I'm a swordsman who knows very well how to fight. However, as I was attacked, I felt this strange energy well up inside me. It felt like it was enhancing me in some way."

Louise took a moment to ponder my words.

"Hm…" she hummed. "Sometimes, familiars can yield special powers once contracted. Perhaps that was your power?"

I thought about it for a moment. While it did make sense, the question now was what exactly my power did.

I pushed these thoughts aside. There will be time to look into this later. Right now, I had one more thing to talk to Louise about.

"Louise, there's one more thing I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Louise asked.

"I heard that tomorrow is Voidday and that it is akin to your day off of school for the week, no?"

"That's right." She nodded.

"In that case, I thought it would be good to buy a sword."

This puzzled Louise.

"A sword? Why would you need that when you already have the Blaster Blade?"

I shook my head at her.

"The sword is not for me. It's for you."

"For me?" she repeated after me. "Why would I need a sword?"

I smiled at her.

"Simple. I will teach you how to fight with a sword."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_That morning, Kirche added the finishing touches of her make up with lipstick. As she stared into the mirror at her own reflection, she thought back to last night's events._

_Kirche knew that she was absolutely beautiful. With her looks and enticing sweet talk, she could have gotten any man she wished. Yet, Amos was the first man she had ever encountered to flat out reject her for her ways._

_Strangely, it didn't perturb her at all. Rather, it seemed to motivate her even more._

"_I'm not giving up on you, Amos. I'll make sure you see the value of this love I have for you." She swore. "Men that play hard to catch turn me on the most…"_

_A horse's cry filled the air, snapping Kirche out of her thoughts to get up to look out her window. At the gates, she was in time to see Amos head outside on horseback with Louise holding onto him from behind._

"_What, they are going out today?" Kirche said to herself. "Hm… I guess I could use the old 'happen to run into each other' trick..."_

_With her decision made, she made her way over to the room of her best friend, Tabitha. Inside, Tabitha saw quietly on her bed while reading a book. She was about Louise's height with short light blue hair. Glasses with a red frame adorned her face which had a nonchalant look._

_Several knocks were heard at her door. Reaching over for her staff, she waved it and chanted._

"_Ansur Rel An…" When she finished, she returned to reading her book._

_Kirche then entered the room and began to speak. However, no sound was audible to Tabitha. When the bulk of her chatter was done, Tabitha waved her staff again, bringing sound back to her world._

"_Tabitha! We're going out today so get ready!" Kirche said._

"_Void-day." Said Tabitha without taking her eyes off her book._

"_I know how important Void-Day is to you, but listen! See, I've fallen in love! But he went out with that blasted Valliere just now! That's why I must know where those two are headed! You understand, right?"_

_All she got for a response was Tabitha shaking her head, eyes still locked to her book. _

"_Oh, right, you won't move an inch unless I explain everything." Said Kirche. She then took a deep breath._

"_I WANT TO CHASE AFTER THOSE TWO BECAUSE THEY'RE HEADED SOMEWHERE BUT I CAN'T CATCH UP UNLESS I GET HELP FROM YOUR FAMILIAR!" _

_Kirche then got down on her knees on the side of Tabitha's bed._

"_So please, help me!" she begged. Tabitha closed her book and nodded her head. She got up and opened the window in her room before bring her fingers to her mouth to whistle._

_A loud screech responded to her call. In the distance, a large blue dragon with green eyes approached them. It was large enough to carry several people on its back. The pair got on and quickly took off into the skies._

_**Meanwhile in town…**_

Louise and I arrived in town after about three hours of horseback. It wasn't very busy today and so the roads were quite open. They were very narrow so if it was busy it would have been a pain to walk in.

As we were walking along, Louise spoke up.

"Do you really think I can learn how use a sword?" she asked me.

"Anyone can learn how. It's whether or not you're willing to." I replied.

"But why do I even need to learn how?"

"You can't always rely on your magic. I found out that you mages need to have your wands in order to cast your spells. But what would happen if you didn't have your wand? At least by learning how to fight you won't be totally defenseless should you be unable to cast spells."

"Isn't that your job?" she countered.

"I can't be there all the time. That's why it is important for you to be able to stand up on your own. You can't always rely on me, which is why you should be able to depend on your own strength."

After a few minutes of walking, we eventually made our way to an alley.

"If I recall, it was right next to Viemont's elixir shop…" Louise said. Her eyes then stopped on a building with a shield sitting outside of it. This must be it.

We entered the shop to see a middle-aged man standing behind the counter. He had buck teeth and was smoking a pipe.

"Welcome! What are you looking for?" he asked.

"Do you have any swords that would be fitting for a girl of her size?" I said while gesturing at Louise.

The shopkeeper dug around under the counter before pulling out a small sized rapier.

"How's this?" he asked. I took it and inspected it myself. It was a pretty normal rapier aside from the proportionally small size. However, I had no experience with rapiers and was well aware of how poor they are in a fight against a one or two-handed blade like mine. I shook my head and returned it to him.

"Do you have anything else?" I asked.

"That's the smallest one I got." The shopkeeper replied. Then he gasped in realization. "Well, I do have this one…"

He went over to a barrel in a corner of the room and rummaged around in it for a bit before pulling out another sword. It wasn't very large but I could tell it was at least practical for someone of Louise's stature. It was very rusty, however, but it was cheap at 100 gold pieces. And so, we ended up taking it. We then left the store to head our way back to the Academy with me carrying the blade.

_**Unbeknownst to them…**_

_As Amos and Louise left the store, Kirche and Tabitha__were hiding nearby watching them. Kirche saw the rusted sword in Amos's hands._

"_That little brat came here to buy a gift for my Darling!" Kirche growled as she bit on her wand. Tabitha said nothing, ignoring her to continue reading. _

"_And what's with that rusty old sword? Clearly the poor girl cannot afford to even give a man of Amos's caliber and decent weapon! My Darling deserves only the best!"_

_With that, the two entered the store._

"_Welcome! What are you looking for?" the shopkeeper asked them._

"_Give me the best sword you have to offer!" Kirche demanded. The shopkeeper came back a minute later with a large golden sword adorned with many jewels._

"_That sword was crafted by a very famous Germanian blacksmith! It's made of gold and reinforced with magic so it's pretty durable. It's the best I have!" he boasted. Kirche had sparkles in her eyes at the sight of the blade._

"_Perfect! How much?"_

"_Three-thousand gold pieces." Replied the Shopkeeper. Kirche pouted._

"_That's a bit pricey don't you think?" she said. The shopkeeper shrugged._

"_Hey, you asked for the best I have so of course it comes at a high price."_

_Kirche suddenly sat on top of the counter and posed, ensuring to show off as much skin as possible._

"_Please…, don't you think that's a bit much?" she said seductively. Blood immediately rushed the man's head._

"_U-Uh…, yes! I suppose that's a bit much. How's two-thousand sound?" he stammered. Steam was beginning to come out of ears as Kirche lifted her skirt a little._

"_Oh no… I only have five hundred gold pieces with me… I'm so sad…" she faked a pitiful tone. By this point, the shopkeeper couldn't think straight anymore._

"_Y-You poor thing! Take it for five hundred!" he said unconsciously. Almost instantly, Kirche wrote a check for five hundred and slammed it on the counter._

"_Deal." She said before leaving along with Tabitha who had been reading to herself the whole time. After a few seconds, the shopkeeper broke out of his trance and realized what he had just done._

"_Oh crap!"_

_**That evening…**_

After making a few more errands in town, we arrived back at the Academy by sundown. As we were settling down bedroom, she spoke up.

"I'm not so sure about this. I've never held a sword in my life."

I chuckled at her.

"There's a first time for everything. Besides, this sword is lightweight and feels easy on the hands. You should be fine."

"I guess so." Said Louise. I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Have some confidence. You have a great swordsman for your teacher, right?"

She looked up at me before smiling.

"Right!"

Just then, Kirche barged into the room with Tabitha reading a book behind her.

"Darling!" she cooed. Louise glared at her entrance.

"What do you want, Zerbst?" she hissed.

"Oh nothing, I just wanted to give my darling a gift since his master _clearly_ has bad taste in swords." Kirche stated.

"What did you say?!" Louise fumed.

"Need I repeat myself? Darling deserves more than a rusty piece of junk." Kirche countered.

"Who're you calling a rusty piece of junk?!" a voice said. The girls froze before looking down to where the sword I got for Louise lay.

"Did… that sword just talk?" Louise said.

"No way, an Intelligent Sword?" said Kirche in disbelief. I went over to pick up the blade.

"Who are you?" I asked it. When it spoke, the metal above the hilt moved like a mouth.

"Glad you asked! My name is Derflinger and I was just having a nice nap when this loud chatter began to annoy me in my sleep!" Derflinger said. It was fascinating to say the least. Even back on Cray, a talking sword was unheard of.

"So? Who're you people?" Derflinger asked.

"My name is Amos. Those two girls are Kirche and Louise." I replied while gesturing to the girls.

"What about the blue-haired one?" asked Derflinger.

"Tabitha." Tabitha said simply.

"Looks like you're all mages. You all got that magic aura around you all. Except for you, Amos. You seem… different."

"I am Louise's familiar." I said.

"Whoa! A human familiar? You don't see that every day!" he said. "Then again, I can't help but feel that I _have _seen this before…"

I raised an eyebrow.

"You're pretty rusty. How old are you, Derflinger?"

"Dunno exactly! My memories are kinda hasty but all I know is that I've been around for thousands of years!" he chirped.

"Che! No wonder you are so rusty!" Louise said.

"Yeah, I suppose. You guys got anything I can move into?"

"Move into? What do you mean?" Kirche asked.

"I was sure you guys figured it out by now! I'm a sword spirit! The sword you are holding is just my body and doesn't have any real power. I'm what gives a sword its power!" Derflinger boasted.

"How do we move you?" I asked.

"Easy! All you have to do is break my current body with another sword! Then I'll be able to transfer myself over."

I thought about it for a moment.

"What if the sword you move into already has special properties? Will they disappear?"

"Nope! I'll just take on those powers for my own! It's how I grow as a sword spirit! That way each sword I inhabit will be stronger than the last."

I smiled at this revelation.

"In that case…"

I set down Derflinger and went over and got the Blaster Blade.

"Whoa! Is that gonna be my new body?" Derflinger squealed in excitement.

"Correct."

"In that case, hurry up! I can't wait!"

He needn't say anymore as I raised the Blaster Blade and brought it down on Derflinger, slicing the blade cleanly in two. After a few moments, golden particles raised themselves from Derflinger's body and slowly made their way to the Blaster Blade. The red jewel embedded in the hilt glowed.

"This feels amazing! I've never been in a sword like this before! What power!" Derflinger said, the red gem at the hilt glowing while he spoke before dimming when he finished speaking. I turned to Louise.

"Sorry Louise. We'll get you a new sword."

Kirche blinked at my statement.

"What?"

Right, she came here because she thought Derflinger was meant for me.

"Derflinger's old body was meant for Louise. I was going to teach her how to fight with a sword." I said.

"That's right, Zerbst! And Amos was the one who picked him out for me!" Louise said smugly. Kirche looked humiliated upon realizing her misunderstanding. Then, strangely enough, her expression quickly changed.

"In that case…," she said before pressing herself onto my chest with the fancy sword she bought.

"Please accept this as I sign of my love, Darling!" Kirche chirped. I heaved a sigh.

This was going to be a long night.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Wow, this is my longest chapter yet! Hope you guys like it! Make sure to review, it motivates me to keep writing!  
**

Chapter 7

_**Osmond's Office**_

_Osmond waved his staff over the paper, letters appearing as if he were using a pen. With one last stroke, he completed his signature on the document. He then made the document float to the person in front of his desk to inspect it. He wore colorful clothing underneath a red cape that draped over him. He had purple hair and eyes with his eyebrows and mustache curled at the ends. Satisfied with the document, he nodded in confirmation at Osmond._

"_I am grateful for the school's understanding and cooperation." He thanked. Osmond waved this off._

"_When receiving an order from the Palace, there is no room for concerns." Said Osmond._

"_In that case, I'll be on my way." The man said as he turned to the door. As he exited, Miss Longueville was there bowing. He faced her with lustful eyes peering down at her body._

"_Why, hello Miss Longueville. How about a dinner together sometime?" he flirted. Noticing his gaze, Longueville quickly attempted to cover herself with her cape without raising suspicion._

"_That would be honor, Count Mott." She replied. _

"_I will look forward to it…" the man now known as Mott said suggestively. With that, he continued his way out of the school. Behind his back, Longueville glared at him in disgust before going into Osmond's office._

"_What did the Palace ask for this time?" Longueville asked Osmond as she picked up some books off her desk to sort out._

"_Oh, they just came to warn us about a thief that has been running amok lately." Said Osmond. _

"_Thief?" _

"_Lately, a fellow known as Fouquet has been using magic to steal treasures belonging to those of nobility." _

_A bell rung in Longueville's head._

"_Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt?" she said. Osmond nodded._

"_Here at the school, there is a sacred treasure we keep called the Staff of Destruction."_

_As she sorted the books she held, Longueville pondered about the Staff of Destruction for a moment._

"_The Staff of Destruction… What a troubling name." she remarked. _

"_Well, no matter how adept this Fouquet is, there shouldn't be anything to worry about at all. The treasure vault here is layered with many spells by Square-class mages, meaning it's near impossible to break into. Honestly, the Palace is overly anxious about this." Osmond explained. Despite saying this, he couldn't help but feel that it was still possible to steal._

_He must be imagining it._

_**Later that night…**_

"That's enough for today." I said as I wiped the sweat off of Louise's face with a towel.

"I'm so tired…" she complained. "My arms feel like jelly and my hands are going to get blisters!"

"Well that's what happens when you are not used to do something." I said. "You'll get stronger the more you practice."

When all I got was a pout, I chuckled at her.

After dealing with Kirche last night, I ended up taking the sword she was offering despite Louise's protests. With Derflinger's old body broken, we needed to find a new sword. However, it would be another week before the next Void-Day and I wanted to get started with Louise right away. Seeing Kirche's sword, I had no choice but to take it. It was large for Louise, but a simple shrinking spell by Tabitha did the trick. When she shrunk the sword it was apparently an apology for Kirche bothering us. How did she end up as friends with that girl? The two were polar opposites. Then again, opposites do attract each other. Me accepting the sword also made Kirche more clingy than ever, much to my annoyance. She was persistent that's for sure.

Louise left to go wash herself and retire for the night while I stayed behind to wash some of her laundry. As I did so, I heard someone walking up to me. Looking over my shoulder, I found Siesta standing there.

"Hello Siesta, what brings you here at this hour?" I greeted. She gave me a smile.

"I was watching you and Miss Valliere practice earlier. It was really fun to watch." she said.

"She has a lot to learn. Both in the sword and in discipline." I sighed. Louise complained about her hands losing their softness and how nasty she felt sweating for most of the session. To me, it sounded like she never exercised a day in her life.

"Um, Amos?" Siesta spoke up.

"What is it?"

"Thank you so much." She thanked. Why the sudden gratitude?

"What's this all of a sudden?" I asked.

"You never gave in to the nobles and even stood up against them despite being unable to use magic. Your courage gives me courage as well. That's why I feel like I can continue to do my best because of you, Amos." Siesta said. Now I knew something was off. It almost sounded like she was bidding me farewell.

"Well then, good night Amos." She said.

"Siesta, what's going on with-"

But before I could ask her what's wrong, she quickly took off. I stood there speechless, trying to think of reasons for her confrontation. Nothing I came up with made sense but I knew one thing bothered me.

As she ran past me, I thought I could see tears forming at her eyes.

_**The next day…**_

"She thanked you and then left?" Louise asked. "What's with that?"

"I'm not sure, but something is going on." I replied.

"Well, we can look into that later if you want. For now, you'll have to wait for me outside until class is finished."

After Louise left for her class, I sat down on the grass outside with the other familiars. There were many different kinds, some similar to creatures back on Cray and others new to me. One of them was a giant floating eyeball. I believe it was called a Bugbear. It looked nothing like a bug or a bear though, so it made me question who in the world named it that. Other familiars took a liking to me and started licking me and nuzzling up against me.

"If it isn't 'Our Sword'!" said a voice. Looking over at the hallway, I saw the head chef Marteau walking up to me.

"Good morning, Marteau." I greeted.

"Likewise." He replied heartily as he noticed my situation. "These fellows like you a lot, don't they?"

Hearing that made me reminiscence about my time with the Royal Paladins, especially the high dog unit. Two certain dogs came to mind. One was pink and the other blue.

"I've always been an animal person." I said with a sad smile. Marteau chuckled.

"Why don't I whip you up something to eat? We got a lot of leftovers from breakfast."

My stomach growled upon the mentioning of food. I was so deep in thought about Siesta that I forgot to eat this morning. I took up his offer and we made our way to the back of the kitchen. Soon, the table was laid out with food and I wasted no time eating.

I then remembered that Siesta also worked with the kitchen, serving the students.

"Marteau, do you know what's going with Siesta?" I asked. "She was acting strange last night."

Marteau gave me a confused look.

"You mean she didn't tell you?" he said.

"Tell me what?"

"She quit."

That's what was bothering her? It certainly explained why she was bidding me farewell but it still did not explain why she was crying.

"Why did she quit?" I asked.

"She was hired to work at Count Mott's mansion." Marteau said.

I frowned at this.

"You mean she was forced to?"

Marteau nodded.

"In the end, the nobles hold all the power and we peasants have no choice but to obey. I wanted to stop her from being forced to go, but I can't do anything. It pains me greatly because of the things they say about Count Mott."

"What about this Count Mott?" I asked.

"I hear he's a womanizer. He sees a pretty lady and he'll take her for himself." Marteau said in disgust. I slammed my fist down on the table when I realized what this meant.

"The bastard took Siesta to be a mistress…" I snarled. Marteau nodded sadly. I had heard enough as I got up.

"Thank you for the meal, Marteau." I thanked before leaving.

As soon as I got outside, the bell rung and the students began making their way out into the halls. Louise soon followed and found me in the courtyard where she had left me.

As she walked up to me, she noticed my scowl was angrier than usual.

"What wrong with you, Amos?" she asked.

"Louise, what can you tell me about Count Mott?"

She frowned at the mention of his name.

"He's the Royal Messenger for the Palace of Tristain." She said. "I don't like him at all. His womanizing is no secret as well."

"Someone like him is the Royal Messenger?" I said in disbelief and anger. Louise appeared to sympathize with me.

"As long as he does his job, the higher ups don't care. Whenever he takes a woman it's to be his mistress. Since there's no law against this, there's nothing that can be done."

"Like hell there isn't." I growled. Then realization dawned on Louise as she remembered what we talked about this morning.

"Wait, was Siesta taken to be a mistress?" Louise asked.

"Where can I find Mott's mansion?" I demanded.

"Hold it! You're not actually planning on breaking in to take Siesta back, are you?" she asked. "Mott is a Triangle-class water mage! He's nothing like when you fought Guiche!"

Triangle-class… If I recall, the four classes were dot, line, triangle, and square and were in order of weakest to strongest respectively. Dot mages used one magic, line mages used two, triangle used three, and squares used four. The four elements were fire, water, wind, and earth. Void was the fifth lost element but that was of no concern. If he was a triangle-class water mage then he was certainly no push over. However, even that is not nearly enough to dissuade me. I've faced far worse opponents from the Aqua Force army.

"I don't care how strong he is. There's no way I'm going to allow Siesta to be a mistress against her will." I replied angrily.

"I forbid it! Why do you care so much for that maid anyway?!" Louise said with a hint of jealousy.

"Yo, Amos!" Derflinger said as he hung on my back. "I get how you feel, but aren't you in over your head here? You're considered a peasant and if you were to draw your sword against a noble like this Mott guy then there would be no qualms about killing you!"

I flashed a confident smile at Derflinger.

"I'm no mere peasant, Derflinger." I hinted. He hadn't seen what his new body and I are capable of yet.

Louise coughed to bring back my attention.

"Anyway, as your master, I forbid you from going against Count Mott, understand?!" she ordered. "Any actions you take reflect on me as well and I will not have word go around that my familiar broke into Count Mott's mansion!"

She glared at me expectantly for my response. We stared off against each other for a few seconds before I spoke up.

"Very well, I won't cause you any trouble, Louise."

"Hmph, as long as you understand." She huffed.

"Why don't we go continue our sword lessons in the meantime then?" I suggested.

"Already?!" Louise paled. "But my arms are still sore!"

I smiled at her.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." I said before handing her her blade.

"Now draw!"

_**That night…**_

Louise went to sleep early after today's session. As she snored tiredly, I got up from my makeshift bed of hay and picked up Derflinger.

"You sure about this, Amos?" he whispered. I nodded.

"Derflinger, it's time I showed you what I and your new body are capable of."

As I made my way out the dormitory, I caught and Guiche talking with that blonde girl Montmorency.

"A mythril brooch? You shouldn't have!" Montmorency squealed in excitement as she held a fancy looking brooch. Guiche smiled in delight.

"Don't you think it will look good on you, Montmorency?" Montmorency then looked at Guiche suspiciously.

"And with this, I'm supposed to pretend that you're two-timing never happened?" she said.

"Don't tell me you believe what that vulgar familiar said…" Guiche replied with a straight face. So I was vulgar huh?

"Who's vulgar?" I called out as I went up to Guiche, towering over him. He paled upon seeing me.

"S-Sir Amos! What are you doing here?!" Guiche asked nervously. Apparently I was 'Sir Amos' to him now. At least he's trying to make up and stick with one girl. I haven't heard anything regarding him lately so he must have learned his lesson.

"Do know where Count Mott's mansion is?" I asked. Guiche blinked in surprise.

"Count Mott's estate? Why do you want to know?"

"Let's just say I'd like to see him in person."

_**Later…**_

After an hour's walk, I made it to Mott's mansion. It was plotted on a fairly large stretch of land with a large outer garden with fountains and trimmed bushes and trees. I stood outside the gate, looking through the bars at the mansion.

"The guy's got a nice place here." Derflinger commented.

"He doesn't deserve it." I spat. After saying that, a sentry in standard looking armor came over with his spear pointed at me.

"Who are you?" he questioned. I raised my hands up to show him that I wasn't a threat.

"I'm from the Tristain Academy of Magic. I'm here on official business. I seek audience with Count Mott." I said. I wasn't lying, but there was a whole different meaning to what I said than what the guard is thinking. He lowered his weapon as he deemed me to not non-threatening.

"Very well, follow me."

_**Meanwhile in the mansion… **_

_In Count Mott's room, Siesta bowed in respect as she finished serving Mott some tea. Instead of the black, long skirted maid uniform she wore back at the Academy, she now wore a red maid uniform with a short skirt with long stockings._

"_How's the work? Have you gotten used to it?" Mott asked._

"_Yes, for the most part." Siesta replied. Mott then got up from his seat with a lecherous grin on his face._

"_I see. Well, don't overexert yourself too much." He said as he got behind Siesta and placed on hand on her shoulder, face close to her ear. Siesta grimaced at this. _

"_Yes sir…" _

"_After all,_ _I didn't hire you just for household chores, Siesta…" he suggested as he got too close for comfort. Siesta wanted to push him away but she couldn't in fear of the consequences. A knock was then heard at the door, interrupting them. _

"_What is it?" Mott asked in irritation. _

"_A messenger from the Magic Academy called Amos is here to see you, milord!" the sentry outside the room responded. Siesta gasped at the mention of Amos's name. _

"_Amos? Never heard of him. What could be so important to send a messenger at this hour?"_

'_It can't be… Why is he here?' Siesta thought. _

"_No matter, let him in." Mott commanded. The door opened and two guards stood on both sides of Amos as they entered the room. Amos was in his modified Academy uniform with Derflinger slung behind his back. _

**_..._**

As I entered the room the first thing I saw was how close Mott was with Siesta. My hand itched, resisting the urge to cut him down on the spot. The man looked well past his thirties while Siesta was no older than seventeen.

"Speak, commoner. What message did that old man Osmond give for me?" Mott asked.

"Let Siesta go and no one will get hurt." I said. Mott looked at me in surprise.

"What?"

I drew Derflinger and struck one of the guards in the back of the head with the hilt, knocking him out. Turning around quickly, I swung with the flat edge of the blade, striking the other guard in the stomach, leaving him incapacitated. As the two guards lay helplessly on the ground, I pointed Derflinger at Mott who was in shock at my display.

"You've taken too many women for your own selfish desires. It's time that you paid for your crimes."

"A commoner dares to draw a blade against a noble? You've sealed your fate plebeian!" Mott hissed. Siesta then got in between me and Mott.

"Amos, why did you come for me?" she asked in confusion. "I'm just a commoner! I'm not worth all this trouble…"

"You're wrong Siesta. No one should be forced to do things against their will just because another person said so. You don't have to obey this bastard and I'll make sure he never does anything like this again."

Mott had heard enough.

"How dare you come into my home and claim that I can't do what I wish with my servants!" he snapped. "I am a noble and therefore I am entitled to do what I wish with my property! She should be honored that I chose her to work for me! And you dare say that I have no right?"

I glared at him.

"You're no noble, you're trash."

That seemed to set Mott off.

"That's it, plebeian! You're not leaving this place alive!"

Perfect, he took the bait.

"Then why not have a duel? If I lose, I become your slave and you are free to do what you wish. If I win, then your life is in my hands."

"Very well! Let's take this outside. I'm going to enjoy torturing you once I make you see the difference between us!" Mott accepted the terms without a second thought. He then left, making his way out to the courtyard. Siesta then came up to me in a panic.

"Amos, please! I'm not worth all this!" Tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

I placed a hand on top of her head.

"Stop belittling yourself so much." I said. "You're a human being and no one has to be treated like property, commoner or not."

"But-"

I raised a finger to her lips mid-sentence.

"Just trust me, okay?"

She was hesitant, but eventually she nodded her head. I gave her one last pat on the head before I left for the courtyard. Mott was going to pay for abusing his status and wronging so many young women. It was time to end this sorrowful cycle of fate and karma.

_**In the courtyard…**_

I stepped in the makeshift ring that Mott's guards and many maids made from being present to witness their master's duel. I could see that the maids and even the guards were looking at me in worry and also hope. Mott must have abused his guards and maids countless times and now they were looking at me like I was their hope. In that case, I will be that hope and bear that burden. Siesta stood there as well, her hands folded and eyes filled with worry.

Mott and I stood across from each other in the center of the 'ring'.

"My runic name is 'The Wave'! You will now see why!" he raised his scepter and water from the fountain swirled in the air at his command. He must have had the ability to pressurize it. A dangerous ability indeed.

I drew Derflinger.

"I am Amos, and I will bear the burden of every guard and maid you have wronged." I stated before an intense light shone around me, blinding everyone present including Mott.

As they shielded their eyes, my armor began to appear and I gave one last slash across the light, revealing my transformation. The crowd was gaping at me and I could tell that they now had new-found hope at the sight of me, that I would be the one to liberate them from Mott. Siesta smiled upon seeing me in armor again.

"_Whoa!" _Said Derflinger. His voice was heard in my mind. _"You didn't tell me my new body could do this!"_

"_It's called the Blaster Blade, Derflinger." _I responded mentally.

"_Blaster Blade, huh? I still think Derflinger is cooler. But I guess I got to bear the new title, huh?"_

"_Enough, we have more important matters at hand." _ I replied as I pushed Derflinger out of my thoughts.

Although Mott was surprised, it was not enough to perturb him.

"A mage knight huh? No matter, you're still going to die!" He claimed before sending the pressurized water at me. I jumped high up in the air to avoid it and swung down at him. Mott managed to dodge to the side but was unprepared when I quickly recovered from my landing to follow up with a side slash. I grazed him across the chest, blood seeping into his clothes.

"You cur!" he spat before he conjured more streams of water to send at me. Surprised at his sudden flux of energy, I was struck in the face by the water. My face stinging, I was left to dodge his barrage with some streams still managing to hit me.

One stream of water struck my leg, forcing me on one knee. I grimaced at the pain as I resorted to using Derflinger to support myself up.

"Ha! Not so tough now, are you knight?" Mott mocked. He then raised his staff and gathered all the water he was controlling, forming one large sphere of water.

"Die!" He then hurled it at me. I tried to move but my injury prevented me from moving fast enough. With no other options, I slashed down at the crashing sphere, hoping to mitigate the damage.

**[Insert – Pinchi wo Yuuki he!]**

When my blade touched the water, something unexpected happened.

Instead of the water sphere getting sliced in half, the water seemed to go into my sword.

Derflinger was absorbing the water.

"What?!" Mott gasped. "A magic canceling sword?!"

As the last of the water disappeared, I looked down at Derflinger in surprise.

"Derflinger?"

"_Oh yeah! I can absorb magic to empower myself!" _Derflinger realized. I blinked in surprise before smiling. The Blaster Blade originally couldn't do a feat like that. Putting Derflinger in the Blaster Blade was a wise decision.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

Meanwhile, Mott was forming new streams of water to use on me.

"Grr! It's not over yet!" he yelled before changing the water into blades of ice. Mott then sent them flying at me. I parried each one skillfully with Derflinger absorbing some magic with every blade deflected.

"_Amos! Use the magic I absorbed against him!" _Derflinger suggested.

I closed my eyes and focused. Magic swirled around my blade until it completely enveloped it. It was no different than using my courage as energy.

I opened my green eyes which were glowing in the dark of the night.

"Take this!" I yelled as I swung at Mott, sending a large torrent of energy flying out of my blade at him. My aim was true and Mott took the full force of the attack.

"AAAUUGHH!" Mott screamed in pain as the energy wave sent him crashing into his mansion's wall. The guards and maids were speechless. The man that had abused them for so long, that had gotten away with everything had just been defeated by this unknown person who looked like a mage knight. Soon, they began cheering my name loudly.

I walked up to Mott, the tip of my blade at his throat.

"It's over." I told him. He ground his teeth in anger but could not move. Eventually, he laid his head down in defeat.

"What do you want?" he finally asked.

"First, you will release Siesta and never go after her again."

"All of this for a single commoner?" Mott said in disbelief.

"I'm not done yet." I replied. "You will then release the other maids as well as your guards. You have wronged them for far too long."

Mott looked up at me in shock.

"All of my servants?! But-" he didn't get to finish as I pushed the tip of my sword closer to his neck, drawing blood.

"Okay! Okay! I'll do it!" he gave in.

"Finally, you will stop taking in other women for your own sick desires. If I hear that you take in another helpless girl…" I trailed off as I stabbed Derflinger between his legs. He let out a girlish squeal before nodding his head quickly.

Satisfied, I left him alone and went back to where the crowd was.

"Count Mott has been defeated and has agreed to my terms! You are now free to do as you wish!"

Upon hearing this, the guards threw down their weapons and the maids tore off parts of their uniforms. They chanted my name and came up to thank me. Many of them were crying as they did so but not so much as Siesta, who was bawling out of pure happiness and relief.

After she was done crying, Siesta came up to me and pulled me into a hug, ignoring my armor.

"Thank so much Amos! Thank you!" she thanked. In Siesta's mind, Amos was literally her knight in shining armor.

I placed a hand on her head.

"I told you you could trust me." I said. She looked up at me with a smile.

"Yes! I won't doubt you again!"

I chuckled before rubbing her hair.

"Come on, let's get your stuff and go back to the Academy."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So here's the next chapter. Also I'll take this time to answer some of the reviews since there are some questions.**

**PEJP Bengtzone V2: Amos doesn't turn into Blaster Dark, Blaster Dark is another person. For Derflinger absorbing stuff I already covered that last chapter. **

**Firem78910: Yes but that isn't until later. **

**dogert: Thanks doge! :P**

**Please, please, please review! I feel like I'm writing this for nothing if I don't get reviews! I gotta know what you guys think! Otherwise I may as well just throw this story in the trash and stop taking my time to write it :/**

**Oh yeah, I put up a drawing of what I thought Amos would look like out of his armor on my profile. There's also a drawing of him in armor for comparison. They're just rough sketches and I didn't really put much effort in them but they get the message across. Check it out and tell me what you think!**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter.**

Chapter 8

_**During the night of the duel with Mott…**_

_A person could be seen atop a fortress. This person wore a cloak and feminine clothes underneath it, including high heels which indicated it was a woman. Her long green hair flowed freely from her hood and her mouth painted lipstick was all that could be seen of her face. _

_A pulse radiated at her feet. Soon, the stone crumbled and turned into dirt, allowing her to sink through and enter the room below. Inside was a chest among other things. The woman opened the chest to find many valuable looking jewels before she scooped them all up and made her escape. _

_Left behind on the wall near the chest was a message._

"_The treasure that was stored in your house has definitely been transferred into my hands. Fouquet the Crumbling the Dirt."_

_**The next day…**_

"I can't believe you ignored my orders and broke into Mott's mansion!" Louise exclaimed. After rescuing Siesta I was met with Louise waiting for me at the school gates. Apparently Guiche had sold me out after I had asked him where's Mott's mansion was. Louise woke up the same night because she forgot to eat dinner so she went down to the dining hall and asked where I was. She nearly went ballistic when she realized I ignored her orders to go to Mott's mansion. When I returned, she said nothing aside from telling me that we would have a talk in the morning.

And she is not in a good mood.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble we are going to be in?!" she shrieked. "If Mott reports this to the Palace, then-!"

"He doesn't know I'm your familiar." I interrupted. "Only I will be punished."

"That's no good, either!" she countered. "I can't have my familiar be arrested at a time like this!"

At a time like this?

"What do you need me for?" I asked.

"The Familiar Exhibition Festival. All second-year students have to show what their summoned familiar can do but the other thing is that the Princess is coming to watch this year!"

"The Princess?"

"Yes, Princess Henrietta of Tristain. No doubt she'll be coming with the Royal Guard to escort her. Oh, what if they arrest you when they come?! My reputation as a Valliere will plummet!" Louise panicked.

The Princess herself is coming to watch this event, huh? I wonder what kind of ruler she is.

"Calm down, Louise." I said trying to ease her. "The people I freed from Mott were very thankful to me. I'm sure that if Mott tried to do anything against me they'll reveal all the things he has been doing. It's either me or his reputation, if he had any in the first place."

Louise seemed skeptical but it got her to calm down.

"Anyway, we need to plan our performance and it needs to be good!" she emphasized. She must have really wanted to impress the Princess. Well, if she wanted to impress…

"If you want to impress the Princess then I think I have just thing for the occasion."

"What is it?" Louise asked excitedly.

I gave her a hinting smirk.

"You'll see. It's a surprise."

_**Later…**_

As I walked down the outer halls, I noticed many students outside with their familiars practicing for the exhibition. Louise said there was a big prize so I guess they all really wanted it. Even Kirche and Guiche were out practicing. Kirche was having Flame, her Salamander, do tricks with its fire breath like making it swirl in patterns in the air. Guiche seemed to be… admiring his familiar? It was a large mole with a fairly long nose and large brown eyes. I didn't get that kid sometimes. I saw Tabitha there was well but she was reading a book in a corner of the courtyard. Beside her was a large blue dragon sleeping near her which I guessed to be her familiar. To think that she had a dragon for a familiar… There was more to her than what meets the eye.

"Oh, Amos!"

I turned around to see Siesta running up to me down the hall.

"Siesta." I acknowledged. "Have you settled back in?"

She nodded happily.

"Yes, my co-workers are happy to see me back. They wanted me to give you their thanks for saving me!"

I shook my head.

"Their thanks are not needed. I was only doing the right thing." I said. Siesta giggled at this.

"I think that's what they love about you, Amos." She claimed with a blush. "It's what I love about you too…"

"What was that?" I asked, not hearing what she had said.

"Nothing! Anyway, the students are working hard, aren't they?" she quickly changed the topic. I raised an eyebrow at this but didn't press any further on it.

"They are. I'm curious to see what they'll do."

"The servants are busy getting ready for the Princess's arrival." Siesta mentioned.

"What is the Princess like?" I asked. Siesta smiled brightly at the mention of her.

"Lady Henrietta is greatly adored by the people. She's a kind ruler who always looks for people's best interests. They've looked up to her ever since the King passed away." She explained. That eased my worries about the Princess. It was reassuring to know that not every noble here in this world was corrupt.

"So if the king is dead, is she the ruler of Tristain?"

Siesta shook her head.

"Her mother, the queen, took over when her father died. The people love the queen as well. After all, the Princess got her kindness from her."

"I see." I said. "It's great to know that the rulers of this country are great people."

Siesta nodded in agreement.

"I wish every noble was like the Princess and the Queen. I think Tristain would be a wonderful place if that were to happen." She suggested.

"I'm sure it would." I agreed. Siesta then turned to leave.

"Well, I have things to do. We must look our best before the Princess arrives tomorrow." She said.

"Right. Take care."

As Siesta was leaving, she stopped.

"Oh!" she gasped before turning back around to take my hand in hers.

"Do your best in the exhibition, Amos!" she said with a blush on her face. I blinked in surprise at her actions. She seemed to be happier ever since last night's events but I couldn't exactly figure out why aside from her being thankful that I saved her. Could she actually be… No, it can't be.

Pushing these thoughts away, I raised a hand to pat her head.

"Thank you." I said with a smile. She returned it with a smile of her own before taking off.

_**That night….**_

"_Make sure to guard the gates on the exhibition day." Colbert told a guard in green robes. _

"_Yes sir." The guard replied before leaving. Behind Colbert was massive door locked with a board across it. This was the vault containing the Staff of Destruction._

"_Mr. Colbert," Miss Longueville called as she went up to Colbert. "You are taking the guards from the vault to guard the gates?" _

"_Ah, well, the Princess's announcement that she would come was so sudden that we're shorthanded. That's why we have to take more safety measures for her."_

"_But I hear that the thief called Fouquet is after the treasure in the vault, is she not? IS it really alright to leave the vault unguarded?" Longueville asked. _

_Colbert waved this off._

"_Even so, what thief would choose to perform a robbery when the Royal guard is present?" Colbert reasoned. He then looked up at the vault door._

"_Besides, not even Triangle-class mages can break open this door without knowing how to dispel the sealing spells cast on it." He boasted._

"_Even the school's guards have to show off to the Palace's, you know?" _

_Longueville seemed to study the door for a moment before replying._

"_That's very true."_

_**The next day…**_

All of the Academy students and staff lined up at the school entrance, making a path for the incoming carriage. One soldier in armor stepped forward to speak.

"Her Highness, Princess Henrietta of Tristain has arrived!" he announced in a loud voice. On que, many soldiers marched through the gate onto the school grounds. They surrounded an extravagant looking carriage that was white and purple and led by white stallions. As it came to a stop, the soldiers moved from their posts and a female servant got off the front of the carriage to open the door. Another older woman stepped out before offering her hand for the person inside. The person stepped out, showing her face for the world to see. The crowd let out gasps and ahs at the sight of her.

She was pretty young lady that wore a white dress and a purple cloak, both decorated in jewelry. Her eyes were a brilliant light blue, sparkling under the sun. She appeared to be a little taller than Louise and had chin-length purple hair. On top of her hair was a tiara with different jewels embedded in it. As she looked and waved at the crowd, she smiled at them. This smile was warm and comforting, like knew each person as a friend. As I saw this I knew that was what gave her that charm to win the people's hearts.

I looked over to Louise who was looking at Princess Henrietta dreamily. On my right side I overheard Guiche and Kirche speaking of Princess Henrietta.

"What beauty…!" Guiche remarked in awe. Kirche on the other hand was analyzing the Princess from head to toe.

"She's the Princess of Tristain? I'm much more beautiful than she is!" she suggested haughtily.

As Princess Henrietta got off the carriage, several knights in cloaks with swords strapped to their waists escorted her. They were all a bit taller than me but I could tell from their eyes that they didn't have the experience I have. Most of them were still wet behind the ears and had yet to experience real warfare first hand.

Princess Henrietta made her way over to the school officials who were bowing as she approached.

"I apologize for the sudden request to be here, Mr. Osmond." Henrietta said.

"Not at all your Highness!" Osmond replied. "The students and I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival. We hope to give you a great performance tomorrow."

"Thank you. I really wanted to see the exhibition this year and so…" Henrietta trailed off. She then looked over her shoulder to where Louise and I were standing. If I wasn't mistaken, she appeared to smiling at Louise.

_**The night before the exhibition…**_

"So? What are you planning to do for the exhibition?" Louise asked since I had yet to tell her. "Certainly you will do something while wearing your armor, right?"

"You're close." I said. This appeared to annoy her more.

"Augh! Why can't you tell me?! I can't just have you go up there to do something I may not like! I've got to look my best for the Princess and you're representing me!" she yelled angrily.

I ruffled her hair with a small grin.

"I told you, it's a surprise." I said. She opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. I guess she had gotten used to this by now. I'm not sure when patting and rubbing her head started, but it soon became normal and she had no issues with it. If anything, it always calmed her down or reassured her.

We looked over at the door when we heard someone knocking.

"Sheesh, who could that be at this hour?" Louise muttered.

I made my way to the door and opened it. A cloaked person with the hood covering their head rushed into the room and quickly closed the door. Louise jumped in surprise at the sudden intruder and I instinctively rushed to grab Derflinger.

"W-Who are you?!" Louise asked the stranger.

"It's been a while, Louise Francoise!" the stranger said, the voice clearly female. She then removed the cloak and went up to Louise to hug her.

Louise gasped in surprise when she realized who it was.

"P-Princess Henrietta?!" she stammered.

"Yes, it's me my old friend…" Henrietta said out of joy. Louise was friends with the Princess? Why did she not tell me this?

Oddly enough, Louise grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away.

"You shouldn't have done this, your Highness!" said Louise as she kneeled on one knee. "To come to such a humble abode by yourself is…"

"Stop the formalities, Louise Francoise." Henrietta interrupted. "We are friends, are we not?"

Louise gave hesitant smile.

"Princess, those words are too much for me…" she said. Henrietta was tearing up at this point.

"I've wanted to see you for so long." Henrietta said sadly. "Ever since Father passed away, I haven't had anyone to open up to."

Louise stood up, tears also forming in her eyes.

"Princess, I was surprised when I received a letter from you. I wanted to see you too." She cried as she held Henrietta's hands. With the way they acted, I would have thought them to be close siblings.

I stood silent the whole time, watching them catch up before Louise looked over at me.

"What are you doing?!" she chastised. "The Princess is before you and you do not bow?!"

She faced back at Henrietta.

"Please forgive him, he's new and-"

Henrietta raised a finger to hush her.

"It's okay, Louise." Henrietta said. She then looked over to me.

"I was told by Louise that she had summoned a person for a familiar. Are you that person?" Henrietta asked. I nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. My name is Amos, your Highness." I curtsied, my mannerisms from back in the Sanctuary kicking in.

"'Bearer of burden'…" she noted before realization dawned on her. "Are you by any chance the one who fought with Count Mott?"

Louise froze at the mention of the duel.

"That's right." I said. "You may not have realized it, but that man was no noble in my eyes. He had committed many atrocities and got away with them. Someone needed to put him down."

"How dare you talk like that with the Princess!" Louise berated me.

"You're right." Henrietta agreed which made Louise look at her in surprise. "Not long after, I had received word about Count Mott and the things he had been doing. He was arrested shortly."

"How is it that you never knew about his actions before?" I asked.

"There were no reports or complaints by the people concerning him." She explained.

"Bribes." I concluded. "Mott must have taken measures to ensure the people would stay silent."

"Most likely." Henrietta said. "In any case, I thank you for bringing him to justice. His action reflect poorly on us nobles."

"I was only doing what was right." I said.

"Also," Henrietta started. "I was informed that you are a mage knight. Is it true?"

I gave her a hinting smile.

"You'll just have to wait and see tomorrow, your Highness." I told her. She giggled at my secrecy.

"I look forward to it." She replied eagerly before picking up her cloak.

"Well then, I must head back before my disappearance causes an uproar." Henrietta said before giving a Louise a hug. "I'm glad I got to see you again, Louise Francoise."

Louise happily returned the hug.

"Me too, Princess."

_**The day of the exhibition**_

"We will now being this year's presentations of the students and their familiars." Colbert announced. The crowd cheered as the students got up on the stage to perform.

The first to go up was Kirche, who had Flame spew out fire in various patterns while she acted like she too was breathing fire.

Next was Guiche's girlfriend, Montmorency. Her familiar was a small frog that wore a large red ribbon on its head. It danced as Montmorency played on a violin.

Guiche then went up and posed with his mole familiar amidst a bed of roses. I had to slap myself in the face when some people actually applauded for it.

The other students' acts varied, some interesting and others a failure. The one that garnered the most attention was Tabitha and her blue dragon Sylphid. Tabitha rode Sylphid as they wheeled across the sky, doing several acrobatic maneuvers and raising a light breeze. A large applause soon followed once they landed on the ground to bow.

"That was Tabitha the Snowy Wind!" Colbert told the crowd. "Next is Louise de La Valliere!"

Louise and I stood in the waiting area and we stepped out onto the stage upon hearing Louise's name.

"I hope what you have planned is good." Louise whispered.

"Just leave it to me." I replied. We faced back to the audience.

"Allow me to introduce you all." Louise began. "This is my familiar, Amos. And he is… a swordsman."

A commotion was raised in the crowd upon seeing me and hearing Louise's words.

"Look, that's the guy rumored to be a mage knight!"

"No way, a commoner like him?"

The next few comments caused laughter to stir among the people who haven't seen me in my armor.

"Why is a commoner your familiar, Louise the Zero?"

"Only the Zero would be able to someone a peasant to be her familiar!"

Taken back, Louise instinctively looked over to where Henrietta was sitting which was next to Osmond under an ornate tent to shade her form the sun. Henrietta flashed her an encouraging smile and her eyes seemed to be saying, 'You can do it!'.

I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at me.

"Let me handle the rest." I told her before stepping forward. I drew Derflinger, silencing the crowd as they looked at me expectantly.

"My name is Amos!" I spoke in a loud, authoritative voice. The soldiers who stood guard were immediately brought to attention on instinct. They could have sworn they heard a higher ranking officer address them.

"I am Louise de La Valliere's familiar and I can assure you all that I am no mere peasant." I stated. Several students looked at me knowingly at what I was about to show.

I held out Derflinger to summon my armor when suddenly, a loud rumbling noise resounded throughout the air. The ground shook and many students were in panic. Soldiers scrambled everywhere, trying to calm the crowd down while others tended to Princess Henrietta.

"Look! Up there!" One student cried out.

All eyes turned to the direction she was pointing. A massive stone golem standing nearly fifteen meters tall towered over everyone. It was next to a tower and its fist was stopped mid-air before connecting with it. It looked like it was trying to destroy the tower for some reason. On top of the golem's head was a person. Down from where I was standing, I could not make out the person's exact details but I could make out enough to tell it was a woman.

"Damn, I blew my cover." The woman said. "No matter, attack them my golem!"

The massive behemoth obeyed, tearing a chunk out of one of the school buildings before hurling it.

And it was aimed at Princess Henrietta.

"PRINCESS!" Louise shrieked. Time seemed to slow as Henrietta stared at her impending doom, eyes wide in fear. With no other options, she closed her eyes.

I leaped from the stage, enveloped in a familiar light with an odd tint of gold. I reached her just as the huge building piece collided with where Henrietta was standing, dust and dirt covering us form sight.

Silence hung in the air as all who witnessed this were trying to process what had just happened. Their Princess, their symbol and pride, was dead.

Louise sank down to her knees in despair.

"No… Princess…" she muttered, tears welling up in her eyes.

The silence was then broken.

"L-Look!" one person cried out.

Louise looked over at the crowd who were gaping in awe at something hidden in the dust. As she looked over, the first thing she saw was that the building piece had been split into two. Both pieces lay on the ground away from where the Princess was. A silhouette could be seen in the cloud of dust, holding what looked to be a sword. The dust began to clear and the person holding the sword could be seen more easily with bits of white and gold glinting in the sunlight. Once the last of the dust cleared, audible gasps were heard among the crowd.

What Louise saw took her breath away.

**[Insert – Shouri no Fanfare]**

I was clad in my armor with my sword held high, showing that I had cut apart the building piece before it collided. What caught everyone's attention, including those who have seen my armor, were the new additions adorning it. Parts of my armor were now shining gold including my helmet, my leg armor, pauldrons, and even Derflinger. I now had a white cape fluttering in the wind with a golden outline which was held in place by my pauldrons. Behind me safe from harm was Henrietta who was on the ground, looking at me in surprise and awe.

I turned around to face her, offering her a hand.

"Can you stand, your Highness?" I asked. As she looked up at me, the sun shone behind me.

"Y-Yes. Thank you…" she trailed off as she took my hand blushing. I nodded my head when I was sure she was fine.

Louise sighed in relief when she saw that Henrietta was safe.

"Thank goodness…" Louise then turned to face the golem and the person on top.

"Hey, you! How dare you attack the Princess?!" she yelled angrily. "For that, you've sealed your fate!"

The woman laughed at her.

"Oh? And what do you plan to do about, girl?" she mocked. Louise glared at her before she began to chant.

"Fireball!" she yelled, pointing her wand at the woman. Instead of a fireball coming out like she said, an explosion appeared on the tower wall, making an opening. I could see what was inside and saw the different items stored within.

That was the vault!

"Ha! What part of that was a fireball?" laughed the woman. "Although I have to thank you for opening the vault for me, girl!" she tanked before entering the vault. She quickly came back out holding a long case.

"Farewell!" she boded as the golem trudged away over the school walls, retreating into the forest.

**[End BGM]**

With her gone, a let out a sigh of relief when the Royal Guard got to work in making sure everything was alright. Students and other adults were escorted out and checked for injuries.

"Princess!" several soldiers called out in concern as they made their way over to where Henrietta and I was. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thanks to him." Henrietta said while looking at me. Looking over to me, the soldiers bowed. One soldier with armor different than the others stepped forward before bowing as well. He had blonde hair and a neatly shaven beard. This must be their captain.

"I am Marshall Gramont. Thank you for protecting the Princess. We are very much indebted to you." He thanked.

"No need to for that." I told him. Wait, Gramont?

"Are you by any chance related to Guiche de Gramont?"

Marshall Gramont looked up at me in surprise.

"Ah, you must be the knight that my son lost to." He realized. "At first, I was angry that he had lost to an unknown warrior but witnessing you today makes me glad that a swordsman of your caliber is here."

"I was merely doing what was right." I waved him off.

"Amos!" Louise called as she ran up to me. Following behind her was Kirche, Tabitha, Guiche, and Siesta. Kirche and Siesta had stars in their eyes while Guiche and Tabitha looked at me impressed.

Louise then ran into me, burying her face on my chest.

"Idiot! I thought you and the Princess had died!" she cried. I placed a hand on her head.

"Did you really think a hunk of rock would be enough to kill me?" I joked. Louise looked up at me before shaking her head.

Kirche then joined in, jumping onto me from the side.

"Darling!" she cooed. "You look absolutely _dashing _your new armor!"

"Impressive." Tabitha said.

"You protected the Princess with your body without hesitation… Truly you are a valiant knight!" Guiche complimented.

"I'm glad you're okay, Amos." Siesta said.

Henrietta coughed, interrupting our moment.

"Now then, we still haven't decided on a winner for this year's exhibition." She said.

"But Princess! Is it really okay to be thinking about that at a time like this?" Louise asked.

Henrietta shook her head.

"I'm sure that the other judges would agree with me on who the winner is, right?" she said as the other judges came up to us, nodding their heads.

Henrietta chanted, before speaking with an amplified voice.

"Everyone, may I have your attention?" she announced, all eyes now on us. "We are proud to announce this year's exhibition winner! Please give a round of applause for Louise de La Valliere and her knight familiar, Amos!"

There was a massive applause with many people chanting my name. Colbert came up to Henrietta while holding a pillow which had a small little crown resting on top. Louise got down on one knee before Henrietta placed it on top of her head.

"He's an amazing familiar." Henrietta told Louise. Louise looked over at me with a large smile on her face.

"Yes, he is."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: For those of you who are wondering, YES, there will be stuff from Cray making their way onto Halkeginia. It's just that the first several chapters didn't have much reason to have stuff from Cray. Not going to say what things are coming over from Cray, or that would ruin the fun. **

**Also I'm going to change some stuff from the anime plot since that means things will be boring and predictable if do. Where I can and deem fit of course. Chapters may take more time to come out since I have to think about things I am changing.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter 9

It's been a day since Fouquet's attack and it was all the students could talk about. I was currently standing by Louise who was seated at her spot with Kirche and Tabitha next to us. It was study hall and the class had the time to themselves as long as they stayed in the classroom.

The incident with Fouquet had stirred an uproar in the school and with the palace. Apparently the so called Staff of Destruction that Fouquet stole was powerful enough to kill a dragon in one shot. I am no expert in the weapons nor the types of magic in this world, but I'm familiar enough with dragons to know that weapons to kill them so easily are not easy to come by.

My thoughts turned back to Fouquet. To command such a large golem meant that she had to have been a strong earth mage. But even then, it was not powerful enough to break into the vault. She appeared to have her golem attack the vault so that she could make a quick getaway. However, the golem's fist stopped in midair, like a barrier was protecting the vault.

Then Louise's spell… It made a large crack in the vault wall despite the barrier. This proved my thoughts on Louise. Although she cannot cast spells properly, she is able to use magic on some level in the form of explosions. But from what I was informed the vault was protected by magic cast by square class mages. Louise is considered a dot mage since she can only cause explosions. Technically, this meant she should have been a very weak mage, yet her 'failed' spell broke through the barrier. Explosions are by no means weak but a simple one being able to destroy a powerful barrier didn't make sense to me.

I was so deep in my thoughts that I failed to notice Louise calling my name.

"Amos?" Louised called. "Amos!"

My eyes widened in realization before I looked to her.

"What's wrong?" asked Louise, her eyes filled with worry.

"Nothing." I replied. "Just thinking about Fouquet."

"That's no surprise." Kirche said. "Speaking of which, I also heard that Princess Henrietta may have to take responsibility for the robbery."

"What?! Why?!" Louise panicked.

"It was because of her presence that the guards of the vault had to move to the courtyard to guard Her Highness. They believe that was why the Staff was so easy to steal." I explained.

"Not only that, Princess Henrietta ignored her advisors to attend the event." Said Kirche.

"No way…" Louise said in disbelief. "It's my fault…"

Kirche raised an eyebrow at this.

"What do you mean?"

"Louise is the Princess's best friend." I told Kirche.

"You're lying!" she exclaimed. "The Zero is good friends with the Princess?"

"That's right!" Louise huffed arrogantly. "Someone like you isn't worthy to be graced with her presence!"

This ticked Kirche off.

"What did you say?!" she yelled angrily. At that moment, Colbert entered the room with a look of urgency.

"Miss Valliere! Miss Tabitha!" he called. "Please come to the Headmaster's office immediately!"

_**Osmond's Office**_

When Louise, Tabitha and I made it to the Headmaster's Office, all the teachers were there as well. An elderly man with a long white beard sat at his desk expecting us. This must be the Headmaster, Osmond.

For some reason, Kirche came along as well.

"Why are you here?!" Louise whispered harshly at Kirche.

"Why not? I'm interested in what's going to happen." Kirche replied.

"Ahem, if I may have your attention…" The woman with green hair in a ponytail with glasses said. "After questioning the townsfolk, we learned that there were sightings of a suspicious person in a cloak entering and leaving the woods on multiple occasions. We sent people to take a look and there's an abandoned cabin deep in the woods."

"Good work, Miss Longueville." Osmond said.

"Should we not report this to the palace, then?" Colbert asked. "The Royal Guard should be able to handle it."

"By the time troops from the Palace come, Fouquet will have escaped by then." I reasoned. Osmond nodded in agreement.

"That's right. Therefore, we must retrieve the Staff of Destruction ourselves." Osmond then turned to us. "This is also why I have called you children here. I ask that you lend us your strength."

They want _us_ to deal with a criminal? They're adults and putting the responsibility on the shoulders of kids barely sixteen years old! What kind of example are they setting for the students?!

"I'll do it!" Louise said, raising her wand.

"I'll go as well." Kirche followed. "I can't let a Valliere take all the credit."

Tabitha raised her staff as well. Even Tabitha is willing to go through with this?

"Excellent." Osmond said. "We'll leave it to you three."

I stepped forward.

"And why is it the teachers cannot accompany us?" I asked. The other teachers including Colbert fidgeted where they stood.

"Well…. Uh…" one teacher said.

"I saw what that thief was capable of and…."

I gritted my teeth.

"In other words, you are all cowards." I said angrily. "You people are teachers, the examples being set for these students. Yet, when there's trouble, you give the responsibility to the kids. I'm disgusted."

My words pierced them deeply, causing Louise to gasp at me.

"Amos! Watch your tongue!" she exclaimed. I looked down at her before turning my back to them with my arms folded. Louise frowned.

"Amos…" she whispered.

"Sir Knight." Osmond said. "While what you are saying might be true," He glared at the teachers, making them back up before he continued to speak. "Understand that the kids are not as helpless as you think. Miss Tabitha is a Chevalier Knight at such a young age, for example."

Louise and Kirche's eyes widened greatly at this. I was taken back as well.

"A knight?!" Louise said in surprise.

"Is it true, Tabitha?" Kirche asked. All she got was a nod from Tabitha's head. A titled knight at her age was unheard of, even back on Cray! There may have been young soldiers at that age but even they were not properly titled until they reached past their twenties. I was titled at eighteen due to my skills, but sixteen? Just what was this young girl capable of?

"On top of that, Miss Zerbst's family is well known for their military history and might." Osmond continued. "Her fire magic is exceptionally strong as well."

Kirche raised her head high in pride at Osmond's words.

"And Miss Valliere is… well…" Osmond trailed off. Louise looked at him angrily, realizing why he had trouble coming up with something to say.

"Ah, yes! Her family has many esteemed mages and her familiar is a mage knight with strength greater than that of Triangle-class mages!" he said quickly.

"That's right! He's the legendary Gand-" Colbert said before stopping himself mid-sentence. My eyes narrowed at his behavior. He called me legendary… A legendary what? What was the reason for this? I'll have to have a talk with him. My stare did not by him unnoticed, as he panicked at my gaze. It went by unnoticed by those in the room, however.

Longueville stepped forward.

"I'll guide them, Headmaster." She said.

"You would do so, Miss Longueville?" Osmond asked.

"I had intended to from the start." Longueville replied. I noticed the slight change in her tone of voice. It sounded almost like it was part of a plan. Her green hair was bothering me greatly as well. If I was not mistaken, Fouquet also had green hair. She could be… No, I can't jump to that conclusion yet. The answer will present itself in time. But I knew one thing for sure.

Longueville couldn't be trusted.

_**In the woods…**_

We rode on a carriage with Longueville at the reins. The woods weren't very thick but it did stretch for quite a few miles, easy to get lost in if you went out too far.

During the hour spent riding to the destination, Kirche had been complaining non-stop. The girl needed to learn patience, seriously.

"Ahhh…. I'm bored…" Kirche moaned.

"We're almost there. Patience." I told her.

"Yeah, Zerbst! Quit annoying everyone with your whining!" Louise said. "If you have complaints then why are you even here?!"

Kirche laughed a little before forcing herself to a seat next to me. Very closely.

"Isn't it obvious? I get to spend time with my Darling!" she giggled as she pressed her chest onto me. I sighed at her approach but didn't make any attempts to move her away. I've given up trying to get her give up on me but she is much too stubborn. She can flirt all she wants but she won't get anything from me.

Louise on the other hand…

"What do you think you're doing to Amos?! Get off him you wench!" she demanded.

Kirche didn't take being called a "wench" very lightly.

"What did you call me?!" she replied angrily. Both of them were now glaring at each other with their foreheads touching, sparks seeming to crackle in the space between both their eyes.

"Enough." I said, pushing the two away. "We did not come here to fight."

Louise huffed angrily and turned her back to me while Kirche pouted and resumed her position next to me. Honestly, these girls were more trouble than the hotheaded recruits in the Sanctuary.

My thoughts turned back to Fouquet. If she was capable of magic then that meant she was a noble. Did this mean that not only are nobles corrupt, but they also abused their powers in this manner?

"Louise. If Fouquet is able to use earth magic of that level, she must be a noble right? Is it normal for nobles to abuse their powers to even thievery?"

Louise looked back at me before pondering for a bit.

"It's not impossible, but Fouquet could also be a disgraced noble. She may have lost her status and is now using her power to commit crimes."

A disgraced noble… That would certainly make sense as to why she robs other nobles, to regain some of her riches. Still, if that were the case, how did she gain knowledge of the Staff of Destruction inside the school vault? Until now, the cases involving her were all robberies against nobles. So why turn to the school? The only possible way is if she was able to get information inside the school through someone with knowledge of the vault.

I froze and my eyes widened in realization before I glanced over at Longueville, her back turned to us. If she really was her, then…

"We're here." Longueville said as the carriage stopped. Several meters away was an old looking cabin that looked ready to collapse. We got off the carriage and made our way behind some bushes closer to the cabin.

"So that's it? Not a very good place to be hiding in." Kirche said.

"A concealing spell cold have been cast on it to make it look like that." Louise suggested. "Let's go check it out."

"I'll go have a look around in case Fouquet comes by should she not be in the cabin." Longueville said.

My eyes narrowed at her suspiciously.

"I'll stay with the carriage." I volunteered. "You three go take a look."

The girls nodded before scurrying over to the cabin. As they did so, Longueville turned to leave toward the other side of the woods.

"Where are you going, Miss Longueville?" I asked suddenly. She turned around, looking at me in surprise before letting out a small nervous laugh.

"What do you mean, Sir Knight? Did I not inform that I would scout the area?"

"Don't test me, Fouquet."

Longueville's eyes widened in shock.

"W-What?"

"You are Fouquet." I stated.

Longueville nervously laughed again.

"What are you talking about, Sir Knight? There's no way I could possibly be-"

"Then why personally guide us?" I interrupted. "Why would you volunteer to be the one to stay behind away from our sight to scout the area?"

"What… What are you getting at?" Longueville asked.

"Fouquet has always targeted nobility for her robberies. So why would she suddenly switch her target to something within the school vault? Where did she get that information? The answer is that she got it from within the school, which meant she is someone working there. And the only way she would be able to get that information on the Staff of Destruction's location is if she was able to get it out of someone who had that information."

I drew Derflinger and pointed him at her.

"And from what I gathered after investigating the Staff of Destruction, Osmond was the only one who knew about it until now which meant that the only person closest to Osmond at all times is his secretary."

Longueville grew silent, standing where she was like a statue. No doubt she was in shock at how I easily deduced her identity.

A wide grin appeared on her face before she began to laugh; only it wasn't out of nervousness this time.

"I should have known you would cause me this much trouble, as expected of a Gandalfr." She said. Longueville removed her glasses and let down her hair, her locks identical to that of Fouquet. Her statement was plaguing my thoughts. Gandalfr? That sounded like what Colbert was trying to say.

"Gandalfr?" I repeated.

"It's nothing you should be concerned with." She ignored my question. "But you should be when I crush those brats!"

She raised her wand and the rocks and dirt swirled into the air near the cabin, forming her fifteen meter tall golem. Its fist was already raised, aimed at the cabin.

"Stop!" I yelled, my armor already forming. I raised Derflinger and swung at the golem from afar, shooting a crescent-shaped energy wave that exploded upon making contact with its fist. The force from the impact blew away the roof of the cabin, revealing the girls inside who were looking at the golem in surprise. In Tabitha's arms was a long purple case. Inside must be the Staff of Destruction.

"What's going on?!" Kirche panicked.

"That's Fouquet's golem!" Louise remarked.

Tabitha stared at the golem, appearing to analyze it.

"You brats are dead!" Fouquet claimed before commanding her golem to attack again. Tabitha stepped forward and raised her wand at it.

"Nied, Iss, Har…" she chanted. Large amounts of air currents swirled around her staff before firing off as a small tornado at the golem. Although it was certainly a strong wind spell, it had little effectiveness against a golem of that size.

Kirche took her turn next, her wand already raised.

"In, Ex, Bet, Flame…" Kirche chanted. "Fire!" When the word left her mouth, a stream of fire burst from the tip of her wand, enveloping the upper body of the golem. It staggered a few times from the sheer amount of flames covering it, but with a swipe of its arm the flames were extinguished.

"Ha! Is that all you kids got?" Fouquet mocked.

"Ugh! We're no match for it!" said Kirche. Tabitha, realizing the situation they were in, brought her fingers to her mouth and whistled which caused a loud screech to respond to her call. Overhead was her dragon flying down to the ground for her and the girls.

"Amos!" Louise called. I stood amidst the dust and dirt, coughing at the large quantities in the air.

"I'm fine! Just get to safety!" I told her. She shook her head.

"No! I want to fight with you!" she replied. Louise made her out the cabin and confronted the golem, her wand raised.

"And just what do you hope to do, girl?" Fouquet asked. Louise gave her a glare before swing her wand, a small little explosion barely making a dent on the golem's chest.

"It's no use, Louise! Run!" I commanded. Again, she shook her head in denial.

"I won't run! I'm a noble! And you don't call nobles because they can use magic; you call them nobles because they don't turn their back to an enemy!"

Louise drew the sword on her back.

"I won't be called Louise the Zero forever!"

Stubborn girl, but her courage was great and admire her for that. Still, her magic isn't strong enough to take the golem down and a sword that didn't have capabilities like mine would be useless against it.

"You would throw your life away for a dumb reason like that?" Fouquet said as the golem raised its fist above Louise. "Then die already!"

Louise responded with a shout before running at the golem's foot, swinging her sword down on it only for it to snap in half.

"No way!" Louise exclaimed.

The sword must have been cheaply made if it broke so easily just from attacking stone, and from being swung by a girl of Louise's strength. It never broke during our training sessions since I never swung at Louise with much strength and now Louise is defenseless.

"Ha! How pointless! Crush her, golem!" Fouquet laughed before the golem's fist came crashing down at Louise. I sprung forward at a great speed, grabbing Louise out of the way. The ground shook when the golem's fist crashed down, sending rocks and dirt into the air.

As I picked Louise and myself off the ground, I grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face me with an angry expression on my face.

"Amos…" she muttered. "I-"

She never got to finish as I slapped her face. Holding her cheek, she looked at me with tears threatening to pour out her eyes. I met her gaze with a stern look.

"You could have been killed." I berated her. "Nothing is noble about dying."

Tears were now streaming down Louise's face while she looked at the ground, shaking.

"What do you know?!" she yelled in frustration. "People always make fun of me because of my abilities… And it's frustrating! How can I stand tall if they hear that I ran away?!"

"Louise…" I whispered. A shadow was cast above us, bringing my attention overhead. Fouquet's golem was preparing to crush us again.

I picked up Louise who was unable to move due to her mental state and jumped out of the way. Quickly getting back on my feet, I rushed over to Tabitha and Kirche who were currently riding Tabitha's dragon.

"Louise!" Kirche said upon seeing Louise covered in dirt and in tears. I lifted Louise up to her.

"Take care of her." I told Kirche. She nodded before hoisting Louise up on the dragon.

"Get on." Tabitha said. As she did so, Fouquet's golem poised to strike.

"No, go on ahead." I told her. Wasting no time, Tabitha commanded her dragon to take off. I jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the golem's fist. I recovered my footing and charged forward to slash at its leg. I made clean cut causing the dismembered limb to crumble to dirt. This made Fouquet laugh.

"It's useless! No matter how much you hack away at it, you'll never defeat my golem!"

No sooner did she say those words, the dirt from the ground rose up and swirled around where the golem's leg used to be, forming a new one. She's right. Unless I can utterly destroy the golem's whole body, it will keep regenerating itself endlessly. I can't use a strong energy wave either since the golem doesn't emit any magical energy. What am I supposed to do?

Meanwhile, on Tabitha's dragon, Louise suddenly grabbed the case containing the Staff of Destruction.

"What are you doing?!" Kirche yelled.

"There must be something I can do! Let me down!" Louise demanded. She then jumped off, leaving Tabitha with no choice but to break her fall with a Levitation spell. Louise opened the case and took out whatever was inside. I looked over to her wondering what she was doing back on the ground. Then I saw what the Staff of Destruction looked like.

I felt my blood run cold.

The "Staff of Destruction" looked like a large rifle composed with white, silver, and black metal. At the very back of the rifle was a large yellow pack that appeared to store something within. A large red jewel was embedded in the center of the rifle. There was no mistake. The "Staff of Destruction" was not just some magical item. It was a weapon from my world. More specifically, a weapon of _theirs_.

"Oi, Partner! What's wrong?" Derflinger asked.

"That's…" I trailed off.

That was the beam rifle of the Unrivaled Star-Vader, Radon. What was it doing in this world?!

"W-What is this?!" Louise exclaimed as she examined the beam rifle.

Fouquet turned around to see Louise holding Radon's rifle.

"It's useless girl. Even I cannot use it." She said. Of course you can't use it. It's not just some magical item you people can use.

"The Staff was your only hope of defeating me and it's useless to you! You will die here along with your knight friend!"

Fouquet's golem turned around to walk towards Louise. Instead of running, Louise tried waving the rifle like a wand.

"What's wrong with this thing?!" she yelled in frustration.

"Louise!" I called before running over to her. There was no time to wonder about Radon's rifle. Right now, it was our only hope of stopping Fouquet's golem.

I grabbed the rifle from Louise, causing the runes on the back of my left hand to glow. Suddenly, information poured into my mind. It was knowledge about the weapon, where it was made, how to use it, everything. Aside from how to use it, the rest of the knowledge was nothing new to me.

"This isn't a magic staff." I told Louise. The red jewel in the middle of the rifle glowed as I held my fingers against it. The barrel extended and the grip popped outward, revealing the trigger.

"Stand back!" I commanded Louise. She did as she was told before I aimed and fired.

A large red laser burst from the barrel, the recoil strong enough to knock me off my feet and into Louise. I lost my grip on the rifle and it flew several feet away from me. The laser reached the golem, exploding upon contact. Fouquet screamed as she was blown off her now destroyed golem and into the air. Without panicking, she took out her wand and she was soon floating safely toward the ground.

As the dust settled, I lifted Louise and myself off the ground to see the aftermath. The blast had completed destroyed the upper half of the golem and most of its lower body. There wasn't even dirt leftover from its destroyed body; all vaporized.

"Amazing…" Louise gawked.

Indeed it was. This weapon along with its original owner, Radon, was responsible for the destruction of much Cray and deaths of many. I never thought that I would one day come to wield it and it scared me. Images of the war with the Star-Vaders flashed before my eyes, many soldiers and innocents dying. Among the carnage was the silhouette of a figure whose armor strangely resembled mine. No, it wasn't a look alike. I hadn't remembered it since I came to this world nor did I ever want to, so why now?!

The memory showed me a top a pile of bodies, my eyes red with madness.

I yelled in fear, one hand holding my face. My sudden outburst startled Louise.

"Amos? What's wrong?" she asked out of concern. I couldn't reply, for I was too scared at my own memory brought up at the sight of Radon's rifle. This relic of my past caused memories that I wanted to forget to resurface.

Kirche and Tabitha landed on the ground , both of them running up to me. The two girls were startled at my fear-filled eyes.

"Darling! What is it?" Kirche panicked. Tabitha looked at my intensely, analyzing my condition.

"Fear." Tabitha stated, causing Louise and Kirche to look at her in confusion.

Before anything more could be said, Fouquet emerged from the dust.

"I should have expected nothing less from the Staff of Destruction, or is it Musket? It turned my golem to dust so easily." She said. At her feet was the beam rifle which she picked up. I snapped out of my fear-induced trance to see her aiming it at us.

"So it had to be activated by this crystal huh?" Fouquet said as she rubbed her hand over the crystal. "No wonder it wouldn't work when I tried to use it. I have to thank you for showing me how to use the Staff, Gandalfr."

That name again! What does it mean?

"Gandalfr?" The three girls repeated at the same time.

"Oops, I've said too much. No matter, farewell children." Fouquet said before firing. Time slowed as the red doom laser sailed through the air toward us. I grabbed Derflinger and raised him in time to deflect the laser up at the sky. A large explosion soon followed, coloring the sky and everything below it red.

"I-Impossible!" Fouquet exclaimed. Before she could fire again, I had launched forward and struck her stomach with the hilt of my blade. Fouquet's world went black as all the air in her was knocked out, falling limply to the ground. I was gasping heavily, for the images of my past were getting worse upon seeing the death weapon aimed at the girls. Never again. I refused to let any more lives be lost to the Invaders!

"Darling!" Kirche said in delight at my display, ignoring my audible gasps.

"Amos…" Louise muttered.

We stood in silence for a few seconds, my breathing gradually becoming calmer. Finally, I turned around and walked until I passed by the girls.

"Our mission is complete. Let's go." I said coldly, picking up the beam rifle. "Take Fouquet and put her on the carriage."

My tone of voice startled them before they recovered to follow me with Fouquet slung on the back Tabitha's dragon.

_**Osmond's Office**_

The three girls bowed respectly to Osmond, who sat at his desk with Colbert at his side. I stood in the back still clad in my armor, my eyes devoid of any warmth which unnerved the girls and the two men.

"Fouquet has been placed in prison and the Staff of Destruction is secure once again in the vault." Osmond informed. "In honor for your bravery, there will be a banquet held tonight with you three as the guests of honor."

"Naturally." Kirche said proudly.

"The Palace is thankful for your efforts as well. I'm sure you three will be rewarded." Osmond said.

"From the palace? Amazing!" Kirche exclaimed.

"Three?" Louised asked. "But what about Amos?"

"I declined." I said, causing Louise to look at me in shock.

"What?! Getting a reward from the Palace is one of the highest honors a noble could receive! Why would you decline?!" she yelled.

"I don't need it." I said simply. "Now leave, I have something to ask Osmond and Colbert about."

Louise began to fume at my tone of voice.

"How dare you talk to your master that way! I'll have you puni-"

She stopped mid-sentence when she met my cold gaze.

"Now." I commanded her. She looked at me in fear before rushing out the room.

"Ah, wait Louise!" Kirche said as she followed after her. Tabitha did the same thing.

With them out of the room, I said, "I'm not someone from this world. When Louise summoned me, I taken from my own world and brought here."

"What?!" Osmond and Colbert exclaimed.

"And the 'Staff of Destruction' is a weapon from my world as well. Where did you get your hands on it?" I continued in an angry voice. Osmond sighed as he closed his eyes.

"I see, that explains it." He opened his eyes to stare down at his desk, reminiscing.

"The Staff of Destruction is a memento from a certain man."

"Certain man?" I repeated. He nodded.

"You see, it was only recently that the Staff came into my hands. It was around a year ago, I think. I was attacked by a dragon and my wand was out of reach. I thought I was going to die when suddenly a bright red light touched the dragon, killing it in a large explosion. When I looked toward where the light came from, there was a man clad in armor."

"A man… in armor?" I asked nervously.

"Yes. It was the strangest armor I've ever seen."

It can't be…

"It was for the most part white with red and yellow crystals embedded in it. He also had a cape at his waist with strange symbols and shapes."

There's no way…

"And his face was covered by a helmet that had a red horn. Floating behind him was a strange black ring that was deteriorating."

Radon! But what did he mean the ring was deteriorating?

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"When the ring disappeared, the man began to disappear in an array of red lights. Only his Staff remained."

How strange… Back on Cray, I had fought with Radon. I was sure that he had died since there was no body but never would I have imagined that he came here before he died. But his actions confused me: Why save Osmond's life?

"I wish that I had the chance to learn who he was. You said the Staff was from your world, correct? Does this mean the man was from your world as well?"

I nodded grimly.

"Yes… And I knew this man."

Osmond's eyes shot up to the size of saucers.

"What?! Are you sure?" he asked eagerly.

"Don't get the wrong idea. This man was evil."

Osmond was taken back by this.

"What do you mean? Surely a man who saved the Headmaster's life cannot be evil!" Colbert reasoned.

"You're wrong!" I shouted back, startling both of them. Realizing what I did, I took a deep breath.

"His name was Radon. And back on my world… he was from an enemy nation." I lied. They didn't need to know that Radon was from the army of a supernatural force bent on taking over Cray. "Radon was a vile man. He killed without remorse and destroyed as he pleased. So many of my fellow comrades and countrymen were killed by him." My fists clenched at these memories of Radon.

"So that's how it is…" Osmond said sadly.

"I don't know why he saved you for certain, but he likely saw the dragon as a threat or challenge and killed it because of that. He didn't do it for you." I said.

"To think such a story was behind the Staff of Destruction…" Colbert said as he wiped sweat off his brow with a handkerchief.

"In any case, please keep what you have heard a secret. It's also imperative that the Radon's beam rifle does not meet the light of day again."

"Beam rifle?" Colbert asked. "Is that the staff's true name?"

I nodded.

"You have my word." Osmond replied resolutely. "It would be disastrous for the beam rifle to fall into the wrong hands after today."

I bowed my head in thanks.

"Thank you. One more thing, what is a Gandalfr?"

Osmond and Colbert tensed up at the mention of this.

"I heard Fouquet call me that. You did so as well before we left, Colbert." I said.

Both men looked at me seriously.

"You must keep this a secret, even to Miss Valliere until the time is right." Osmond said.

"Are you familiar with the Pentagram of magic?" Colbert asked.

"Yes. There are five elements: Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth. The element… Void, has been lost for centuries." I said the word "Void" in disgust. From what I've learned, Void is apparently a powerful type of magic with the details unknown due to them being lost over time. But if it was merely a lost type of magic then it couldn't have been the same Void that sent the Invaders to take over Cray.

"Correct. You see, long ago, there was a Void mage by the name of Brimir. He was the one who had established our continent of Halkeginia and the nations residing in it. As such, he is considered to be like a Saint of sorts to us, as we pray to him before every meal."

So that was why the students prayed every meal.

"What are you getting at?"

"The Founder Brimir had a familiar. It was called the Gandalfr." Osmond continued. "It was said that the Gandalfr could use any weapon in existence and had superhuman abilities."

So that was why I always felt better than usual when holding the Blaster Blade! It was the runes of the Gandalfr enhancing my abilities! But if the Gandalfr was the familiar of the Founder who was a Void mage, then that would mean…

"Are you saying that…"

"Louise is a Void mage." Colbert finished. "She cannot cast regular spells because of her affinity to the Void. It is so potent that attempting to cast a spell through regular means is useless, and it results in explosions."

"You understand why this must be kept a secret, right?" Osmond asked.

"If word were to get out that Void magic had returned, then Louise would be the target of every nation on the continent, eager to use her as a weapon or claim her as a god." I replied.

Osmond nodded grimly.

"I know it will be hard for Miss Valliere to go on not knowing she has great potential as mage but it is for her safety. I ask that you will be there to protect her."

Me… protect her? Memories of my time being Reversed flashed before me, reminding me of who I was.

"I… have no right to." I said sadly.

"What do you mean? You're her familiar and as such it is your duty to-"

"How can I protect someone with these hands?!" I yelled, silencing both men. My eyes widened in realization at my outburst. I gritted my teeth before rushing out the room.

_**That night at the banquet…**_

The ballroom was packed with students dressed in formal and expensive attire. Many were eating and drinking while having a good time. Kirche was surrounded by the male students asking her of her ordeal with Fouquet. She seemed to enjoy the attention greatly as she laughed in delight.

Tabitha could be seen at a table by herself with a whole pig served to her. Surprisingly, she was half done with it. Where did a small girl like her keep it all?

I stood outside at the balcony, staring out into the night in melancholy. Since I didn't have any formal attire, I was still in my armor.

"What's wrong, Partner?" Derflinger asked me. I opened my right hand to stare at my palm.

"Derflinger. Did you know about this? About Gandalfr I mean."

"Of course. My partners have always been a Gandalfr. It's no coincidence that I came into your hands. It's fate."

"Fate, huh…" In that case, was I fated to always live like this? Forever to be haunted by the ghosts of my past? Not just from when I slew the friends that looked up to me, but even the memories that I had suppressed for so long…

"Amos?" A voice said. I turned around to find Louise standing there in a pink dress with her hair done in a ponytail which was held by jewelry.

"Louise." I acknowledged.

"Is… everything okay?" she asked.

"Yes."

…

We stood awkwardly in silence, not daring to move nor remove our gazes from each other.

"Um, thank you." Louise thanked. "If you hadn't saved me, I'd be dead right now."

"I was just doing my duty as your familiar, nothing more." I said coldly.

"Amos…" she said teary eyed. "Why are you acting like this? This isn't the Amos I've come to admire like a brother…"

I'm… like a brother to her? Some brother I was. If she knew what I had done, would she still be able to say that?

"It's none of your business." I replied before picking up Derflinger and hurrying out the ballroom.

"Amos!" Louise called after me.

I didn't look back as I kept going. I was the wrong person for her to being admiring. I'm no brother, nor was worthy of any praise. Yes, I promised to protect her but I wasn't the one she deserved. I didn't care if she came to hate me. As long as she was safe from the horrors of my past, and from me, that was all that mattered to me.

I stand resolute.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Well here we are with another chapter. I hope the last one was to your guys' liking, because we are getting further and further into the parts of the story that I'm eager to write about. **

**This was one tough chapter to write with the extra stuff I put in. Hopefully I won't have too much trouble with the next ones too. **

**Oh yeah, I've forgotten to do this with the previous chapters, but better late than never, right?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zero no Tsukaima or Cardfight! Vanguard. **

Chapter 10

"_AUUGGH!" a knight yelled out in pain as the blade cut down through his torso, leaving him for dead. His comrades backed up in fear at the attacker, weapons shaking in their hands. Among them was a tall knight with a helmet that resembled a crown. He had spiky shoulder pauldrons and ornate golden decors on parts of his armor. His cape wavered in the wind as he stared down his current adversary._

"_Blaster Blade! Don't you recognize us?! We're your friends, your comrades!" he reasoned. Another knight riding a Pegasus moved forward. His armor was mostly gray with large azure orbs on various areas of his armor. His long gray hair flowed freely out of his helmet._

"_My king, it's no use! He's become fully Reversed!" the Pegasus knight said. "We must take him down!"_

"_No, Gancelot!" The king said. "There has to be another way!" _

_Blaster Blade let out an angry roar as he charged forward to attack at the king. The Pegasus knight Gancelot intervened and blocked the attack with his sword, struggling under Blaster Blade's power._

"_Tch! Even Reversed, he's as strong as ever!" Gancelot muttered. Blaster Blade snarled and delivered a heavy kick to Gancelot's side, knocking him off his Pegasus and causing him to spit out blood on the ground._

"_Gancelot!" the king cried out. He clenched the reins on his horse, struggling to come up with a solution. Then, a small blue dog with bat-like wings for ears and pink hair on his head stepped forward._

"_Blaster Blade!" the dog spoke. "What happened to your courage?! Were you so weak that you allowed Link Joker to Reverse you?!" _

_Blaster Blade looked in confusion at the small dog in front of him, trying to comprehend its words._

"_The Blaster Blade I looked up to would never give in to evil! I know, because you are braver than anyone else!" _

_They stood there for what seemed like minutes, staring into each other's eyes. Blaster Blade's cold red eyes gazed deeply in the blue dog's brave, determined eyes. _

_Blaster Blade's sword arm twitched. The king reached his hand out as if he attempted to reach for the dog._

"_Wingal!" he cried out. Wingal looked on in horror as Blaster Blade raised his sword._

_The brave canine's world went black._

….

I woke up with a startled yell as I sat up quickly from my slumber drenched in sweat. Gasping heavily, I looked over to Louise's sleeping form, relieved that I didn't wake her up. After I had left the ballroom, I went out to seclude myself from others, waiting for the night to pass. When I returned to the room, Louise was already asleep with her face showing signs that she had been crying. It pained me to see this, but I had no choice but to distance myself from her. I could never forgive myself if I were to harm the friends I made in this world as well. These memories were plaguing me and I felt more and more paranoid just thinking about it.

I am a danger to those around me. That is the harsh truth. No matter where I go or what I do, I can't escape the cries of the innocents that I killed. Not just when I was Reversed, but even back then, so long ago…

Unable to take it anymore, I grabbed Derflinger and left Louise's room to wander into the night.

"Ughhhh… What are you doing up so early, Partner…?" Derflinger asked groggily.

"The only thing I _can_ do right now, Derflinger."

_**That morning…**_

_The morning sun's rays illuminated through Louise's window and onto her face, causing her eyes to flutter open. Slowly, she got up and rubbed her eyes which were adjusting to the light. When she was fully awake, Louise looked down at the pile of hay at the base of her bed only to find no one there. _

"_Amos…" she whispered disappointingly. Louise had hoped that she would see him in the morning after taking off last night but her hope was crushed. When Amos had left her alone at the ball, she sulked in a corner of the room, ignoring the offers of the boys who found her evening attire attractive. _

_Even Kirche had been concerned for her, asking her what's wrong. She too was worried about Amos's sudden coldness to them. It was completely opposite to how he usually acted. He wasn't that talkative even before, but whenever he spoke he had this warmth and safety behind his voice that Kirche adored. No man has ever made her feel this way and it worried her that the same man has suddenly become so cold and demanding, like when he had ordered Louise to leave the Headmaster's office. _

_Louise got out of her bed and dressed herself in a melancholic manner. Even though today was the day she was to be given a reward by Princess Henrietta, Amos's absence weighed on her heavily and she couldn't bring herself to feel excited. Ever since Amos had arrived, her life had changed dramatically. People made fun of her less and Amos's actions at the exhibition earned her praise from the Princess. He was like a big brother to her, mentoring her in the sword and always encouraging her. Although he was strict at times like her scary eldest sister, he would also treat her with kindness like her middle sister whom she loved greatly. _

_So why? Why was he so cold to her all of a sudden? Louise thought hard about it, struggling to come up with a logical conclusion. Then she remembered when he started acting like this. It was after he had fired the Staff of Destruction that he had suddenly cried out. Tabitha said that it was 'fear', but that was impossible. Amos was the bravest and most courageous person she knew. He had stood up to Guiche and Count Mott fearlessly despite the odds. _

_The more she thought about it, the more it became complicated._

"_Auggh! It doesn't make sense!" she said frustratingly while ruffling her own hair. _

_After calming down, she decided to confront Amos himself later. She would get answers if it was the last thing she did. Right now, she needed to see the Princess. Louise slapped both her cheeks, resulting in a resolute expression on her face before she headed out of her room. _

_She was informed yesterday that a carriage would be waiting to take her to the Palace at the Academy gates, and so she made her way outside. Her eyes widened upon seeing who was waiting for her at the carriage. His eyes were closed as he stood patiently in full armor except for his helmet, allowing his spiky blue hair to flow freely in the morning breeze. _

"_Amos!" she called out while running over to him. He opened his eyes to look at her upon hearing his name, the expression on his face remaining hard as steel. _

"_Get on, we'll be late." He said._

"_Um, Amos! About yesterday…" she started. Amos ignored her and got on the carriage to take the reins. _

"_Hurry." He told Louise._

"_Eh? Hey, wait!" she said, reaching her hand out in an attempt to stop him. Realizing he wasn't going to comply, she depressingly got onto the carriage before the two took off on the road. Throughout the entire trip, Louise's gaze never left Amos._

"_Amos, just what happened to you?"_

_**Henrietta's Throne Room**_

"I'm glad you two could make it." Henrietta greeted us. Her throne room was rather surprisingly simple with only a few decors on the wall, two statues on both sides, and a red carpet leading up to where she would sit.

Louise had her head down with her eyes clothes as Henrietta approached us. I stood a few feet away from Louise, my head bowed in respect as well.

"I congratulate you on capturing Fouquet. She has caused trouble within the Palace for weeks due to her thefts. Now that she has been caught, you've taken a big burden off of us and for that I thank you." Henrietta told Louise. "It is only right that I reward you and I could not think of a better reward than to knight you, Louise Francoise."

"Oh no, Princess. I am unworthy of a title like Chevalier…" Louise replied modestly.

"Don't belittle yourself and feel proud, Louise Francoise." assured Henrietta. "You are more than deserving of the title."

Henrietta then turned to me.

"I thank you as well, Sir Amos." She thanked. "I trust that you will continue to protect my good friend."

Protect Louise… I swore I would do so and I couldn't allow her to get caught up with my past.

"Of course, your Highness." I replied.

"Then, will you do me the honor of this?"

Henrietta then brought her hand toward me, the back of it face up. The gesture shocked Louise while I recognized it immediately. She was allowing me to kiss her hand, a gesture considered to be highly honored such as swearing loyalty or as thanks by royalty. I did not do it often back on Cray but I was taught to do so nonetheless.

I knelt down on one knee, took her hand, and kissed it. Satisfied, the Princess gave me a warm smile but I thought nothing of it. She appeared to notice this and an expression of confusion formed on her face for an instant, most likely due to the stark contrast with how I was a few days before and now.

Henrietta quickly regained her composure her expression changed to a serious one.

"Now then, I summoned you two here because I have a favor to ask." She said.

"What is it, Princess?" Louise asked.

"Recently, I've heard rumors of more nobles abusing their powers and oppressing the townsfolk. I did not receive any reports regarding this nor complaints by the public. They are most likely being bribed to stay silent just like with Count Mott." Henrietta explained.

More damn corrupt nobles who think they could get away with anything. This was one task I must take up.

"What do you want us to do?" I asked.

"Here." She then handed a scroll over to Louise. "This is a new warrant issued by the Palace that I had approved. Should any nobles be caught abusing their powers similar to how Count Mott did, they will be arrested. Therefore, I'd like to ask you two to live in the town for a while and act as spies."

"If we catch one noble, then the rest will cease any malicious activities." I deduced. It was a good plan. Make an example out of one and the rest will be too scared to continue their actions. This was a good step forward for Tristain and I wished other places would take measures like this as well.

"Right." Henrietta confirmed. "Without proof or an example, these activities will continue among corrupt nobles. It's an insult other nobles as well so I ask that you would please help me in creating a better Tristain, one without strife for the people."

A new determination welled up in Louise's eyes as she smiled confidently.

"Do not worry, Princess! I will make sure that these nobles are brought to justice as if my life depended on it! Right, Amos?"

She looked expectantly at me but I did not meet her gaze. I simply nodded and bowed in confirmation that I would undertake this task.

"Both of you have my gratitude." Henrietta said happily.

"Come Amos, let's go!" Louise said before rushing out the door.

As I turned to leave, Henrietta asked with her voice full of concern, "Are you alright, Sir Amos? You look… troubled."

I didn't turn around to face her as I kept going my way toward the door.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, your Highness." I replied before leaving the room. Back in the throne room, I failed to hear Henrietta say this to herself:

"When I see those empty eyes, I can't help but worry."

_**In town…**_

The journey to town was uneventful for both of us. There was awkward silence the whole trip with Louise looking down at the ground and at me repeatedly. I knew she wanted to talk to me about what had happened but even I am struggling to find the right words to say.

Eventually, we made it to the designated town which was the closest one to the Palace. Our first priority was to get Louise plainer clothes with the thousand gold pieces given to us as funds. I had already dematerialized my armor which left me in the modified Academy uniform I usually wore. It was plain enough so there was no need to use money on me.

Louise on the other hand…

"Why do I have to wear something to degrading?!" she fumed. Her current attire was a plain white shirt, a brown skirt, and brown shoes.

"You chose to do this mission so you will do it properly." I told her. "The other clothes you wanted were too expensive and stood out too much from the common folk."

Louise gave me a huff for a response before we began our search for targets as well as a place to stay. During our search she seemed to fidget with her arms behind her back.

"Amos?" she spoke.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Why are you suddenly so cold to me?" she asked. "You acted like this ever since you held the Staff of Destruction. Tabitha said you were scared but…"

I stopped walking which had interrupted her mid-sentence. What was I supposed to say? Would I scare her? I told myself I wouldn't involve her with my past even if I had to distance myself, but was it the right choice? How pathetic. After all those thoughts of being resolute in my decision I was already wavering. If only I had _his _resolve…

Remembering what my situation was, I quickly came up with an answer.

"Don't worry about it, Louise. I've been a little upset but it's fine now. I'm sorry for how I've been acting." I lied.

Louise looked at me in the eyes with a mixture of surprise, confusion, and suspicion. It was like she was trying to look for any deception in my words.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, really." I lied again.

Louise remained silent but eventually she nodded her head, seemingly to have bought my lie. How long it would last, I wasn't sure. Guilt formed in my chest from my deception but it was a burden I was willing to bear if it meant protecting her. It was she who brought me to this world and away from the one where I no longer had any place in. All I could do as her familiar was serve her to the best of my ability as thanks.

My right hand twitched, realizing what I was about to do. Was it… still okay for me to this? With this hand stained with blood? But…

I hesitantly raised my hand. Slowly, it made its way to the top of Louise's head and began to lightly ruffle her hair. Her eyes widened in surprise at the familiar motion and she eventually gave me a bright smile.

Unlike what I usually did, I failed to realize that I hadn't smiled back at her.

_**Several hours later…**_

Louise and I sat near a fountain in the middle of the town plaza, exhausted from our search. Not only did our search for corrupt nobles yield no results, Louise had refused to stay at every inn in the town. The only one she considered staying at was a luxurious one but I had reminded her of our mission. To make matters worse, Louise had dropped our money pouch at some point. We retraced our steps to find it but to no avail, meaning someone must have stolen it already. Asking the Princess to give us more wasn't an option either. This task was a personal request which means the money she had initially given us was a huge favor. Getting more would be impossible.

I let out a sigh slightly frustrated sigh as I rubbed the bridge of my nose.

"I'm sorry, Amos…" Louise said sadly. She was full of guilt and hugged her knees in depression as she sat.

"Nothing we can do about it now. Let's just focus on finding a place to sleep." I suggested. We may have to beg, but I could at least work for someone in exchange for a room.

"Tres bien~!" A very… strange voice said. Louise and I turned to see a man with neat, glossy black hair with a mustache and beard that covered his chin. He had hair on his chest and on his limbs but what disturbed me the most was his attire. It was a purple tank top _clearly_ designed for women which exposed his abs. His lower body had a skin tight undergarment and feminine white boots. He even had lipstick on his abnormally large lips. Overall, his attire deeply contrasted with his masculine frame.

He approached us in an extremely flamboyant manner.

"Bonjour, bon! You two look very much in need of help!" the flamboyant man pointed out. "As you can obviously see, I am not a suspicious person!"

Saying that before pointing out we need help doesn't help us believe that…

"My name is Scarron, and I run a tavern in this town! I would be happy to lend you two lovely flowers a room!"

"Really?" Louise asked excitedly.

"Yes!" Scarron chirped. "However, I have one condition…"

_**Scarron's Tavern**_

Scarron's tavern, called the Dancing Fairy Tavern, was quite large and had a neat exterior with clean walls and polished windows. It had a second floor which was most likely a floor full of rooms to sleep in. Louise and I entered through the back while Scarron went in the front. Apparently, he wanted to introduce us in a dramatic manner. I had no complaints since he was giving us a place to stay along with meals covered by him. His condition was simply to have us work during business hours, just like I had initially planned to do should I had went elsewhere. I would do dishes while Louise would help serve the customers. She was against this idea but was quickly reminded of our situation, leaving her no choice but to agree.

Peeking into the main dining area, there were many girls dressed in short-skirted waitress uniforms of different colors cleaning the tables in preparation for the evening. Even I had to admit that they all looked pretty. Some were around Louise's age while others looked to be in their late teens or early twenties.

Scarron lined them up side by side in the front of the room for a meeting.

"Attention my dear fairies!" Scarron called.

"Yes, Manager Scarron!" said the girls in unison.

"Not like thaaaaat~!" Scarron said giddily. "When we're in the Shoppe, you're to call me 'Mi Mademoiselle', remember?"

"Yes, Mi Mademoiselle!" the girls corrected themselves. Scarron then clapped his hands in delight.

"Now then, I have good news for the fairies! We have a new fairy joining us here this fine evening! Come in, Louise~!" Scarron called. Louise stepped out from hall on the side of the room dressed in a frilly pink version of the uniform the girls wore. She was clearly embarrassed while standing in front of so many others in an outfit she had been refusing to wear mere minutes ago.

"Louise is a poor girl who ran away from home with her older brother right before her father sold her off to pay his gambling debt!" Scarron explained in a sad, yet dramatic manner. This earned Louise several gasps and comments of pity from the girls.

'"Oh my!"

"Poor girl."

Finally mustering enough courage, Louise managed to say nervously, "I'm L-Louise! Nice t-to meet y-you!"

"Tres bien! Applause!" Scarron cheered along with the others girls.

Meanwhile, I was in the kitchen cleaning dishes with another young woman. She looked around eighteen years old with waist length black hair tied with a kerchief and black eyes. Her dress was light green which had a white apron over it. She was one of the taller girls here, reaching up to my chin.

"You have a very cute little sister." She commented.

"Thank you." I replied nonchalantly. This earned me a suspicious look from her, similar to how Louise was trying to find any deception in my words. Should I have said that differently?

"What is it?" I asked her, trying to confirm what exactly she found strange.

"Oh, nothing." She waved off before continuing to wash the dishes. "I'm Jessica. You are?"

"Amos." I answered.

"'Bearer of burden', huh? That's a name you don't hear every day." she noted.

"I get that a lot."

"Anyway, let me know if you need anything. I'll be happy help." Jessica offered.

"Thank you." I replied.

Unbeknownst to me, Louise was looking over at us with an unusual look of jealousy on her face.

_**Later that night**_

"I can't believe I have to humiliate myself like this!" Louise stomped angrily. "The nerve of those peasants…! How dare they touch a noble like that!"

I sighed at her feud. The night was going relatively well until Louise was playfully poked in the butt by one of the customers, which lead to her bringing out a horsewhip hidden under her skirt to whip the poor man. Scarron had to intervene and apologize, suggesting that he used his 'loving care' to ease the pain. The man was clearly disgusted but the other customers found the sight very funny, including myself but I didn't show it.

The customers were all peasants from town and most were men. They weren't lecherous people, but rather honest men coming to the tavern to have a good time after a hard day's work. Sure, they may have flirted or played a little with the girls but they never went too far.

Both of us were currently in a spare room upstairs which only had one bed. Louise was changing out of her waitress uniform while I sat down quietly on a chair.

"They don't know you're one and you can't reveal that either. Bear with it." I told her.

"I know that!" she yelled. "I still don't see why I, the daughter of a Duke, has to put up with this!"

"Scarron is giving us food and a place to sleep for free. It's only right that you repay his kindness since we don't have any funds." I berated her. Upon being reminded of her blunder, she stopped her complaints albeit with a sour look on her face.

"Besides, you should work hard. Remember what Scarron said? If you get the largest tip total by the end of the week, you can wear the uniform that will earn you a lot of money." I tried to encourage.

"You're rather well off, getting along with that girl and all…" she muttered.

"You mean Jessica?" I asked.

"Nevermind!" she said with her face red. Why would me working with Jessica bother her? Just what was going on in her head?

"Anyway, are you seriously going to allow a noble like me sleep in this filthy bed?" Louise asked. I was beginning to get annoyed with how spoiled she was.

"Would you rather sleep outside on the ground?" I suggested to her before blowing out the candle. She immediately got under the blanket to hide her face. Honestly, the bed wasn't luxurious but it was clean. Just how much more do you need?

As I lay down on the makeshift bed beside Louise's to sleep, Louis peered out of her blanket to look at me.

"Amos? What is your country like?"

I stiffened at the sudden question. It's not like Cray scared me, in fact I found Cray to be wonderful. My past however…

"The United Sanctuary is a beautiful place. The nobles there treated the peasants well and there's no oppression." I said. "Although, it took a long time in order for it to be that way. Whether you could use magic or not, no one thought any different about you."

"Whether you could use magic or not?" Louise asked with a hint of excitement.

"That's enough, get some sleep." I ordered. "You have work tomorrow."

Louise remained silent for a bit before an inaudible noise came from her as a yes. Slowly, I felt myself drifting to sleep.

…

_A young boy with short blue hair and green eyes was running down an alleyway with a girl who was a few years older than him. The girl's resemblance to the boy was noticeable: Her waist-length hair was the same hue of blue as the boy's as well as her green eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. She held the boy's hand tightly as they continued to flee for their lives._

_It was raining that night, thunder flashing in the darkness._

"_Sister, what's going to happen to us?" the frightened boy asked. "Where are mommy and daddy? They said they'd come too."_

_The boy's sister gave him a reassuring smile despite the danger they were in._

"_Don't worry, Big Sister is here. We'll be fine." she assured with a strained voice. Despite her words, both siblings stiffened at the voices that were heard._

"_This way! They went down here!"_

"_Damn brats! I'm going to kill them like their foolish father!"_

"_Keep the girl alive. We can have some fun with her before we kill her!"_

_The two kept running, their bare feet splashing in puddles of muddy water as they gasped heavily with every step. Eventually, they came to a corner and made the turn._

_It was a dead end. _

"_No… No no no…" The sister panicked in horror. Her eyes widened further when she heard their pursuers' footsteps getting louder as well as their angry voices. This couldn't be happening. She had promised her little brother that they would be fine. They were going to make it out of this alive and live like they used to, smiling every day and playing with each other. _

_Only one would survive. _

"_Sister…" the little brother whimpered. He tugged on his sister's arm to get her attention since she was still as a statue. Suddenly, her head snapped back and forth, as if she was desperately looking for something. Her eyes eventually landed on a pile of garbage, a large tarp covering and holding the pile in place. She brought her brother over to the tarp and covered as much of his body as she could under it._

"_What are you doing, Sister?" the boy asked in between sobs. His sister warmly smiled at him._

"_I'm going to go get mommy and daddy. Stay here until I comeback, okay?" _

"_No!" the brother refused. "I want to go with you! Don't leave me here!" _

_The voices and footsteps were getting louder every second. _

"_There's a dead end around that corner!"_

"_They're dead!"_

_The boy's sister bit her lip._

"_Promise me that you won't come out, okay?"_

"_But sister-" The boy wasn't stupid. He knew what would happen if his sister went out there but he didn't want to believe it. He wanted to fight, he wanted to protect his beloved sister but he didn't have the strength to do so. All he could do was hide and do as his sister told him to do. _

"_Promise?" she asked again, starting intensely into her brother's eyes. The young boy hesitated to speak._

"_I… promise." He finally said. A warm pressure could be felt on the top of his head. Looking up, he saw his sister's hand on top of his head, ruffling his hair. On her face was the warmest smile he had ever seen his sister make._

_And it would be the last one._

"_I love you, Amos." _

_Those were her last words to him before his vision went black and anguished cries filled the air._

…

"Amos! Amos! Wake up!" a familiar voice said. I snapped awake with a startled yell to see Louise in front of me. There were tears that threatened to fall from her eyes and she looked frightened.

"Amos! Thank goodness! You were yelling and turning in your sleep!" she informed.

Another nightmare? And it was… It was… The one thing I never wanted to remember.

I grit my teeth in frustration and quickly got up, shoving Louise aside while picking up Derlfinger. She landed on her butt, letting out a surprised yelp and scrunching her eyes as she landed

"H-Hey! What are you… doing…?" she trailed off when she opened her eyes, only to find me already shutting the door behind me.

_**Several days later…**_

_Ever since that night, Amos had refused to sleep in the same room as Louise. No matter how much she asked Amos what was wrong, he wouldn't answer and continued his work. It pained Louise to see him like this. Back when he had said nothing was wrong, there was feeling deep down inside her that knew Amos had lied. Her suspicions were proven to be correct but now that she is faced with it, what was she supposed to do?_

_Work wasn't going well for Louise either. Every day, a customer would say or do something to anger her which led to her attacking the customer in some way. Eventually, Scarron decided to have Louise watch the girls work so that she could use them as reference._

_Another interesting thing she learned was that Jessica was actually Scarron's daughter. How an extremely gay man ever managed to have a daughter absolutely baffled her. The two talked with each other more and they soon became friends._

_Jessica had noticed the change in Amos's behavior and asked Louise a few times if they had fought. Louise's answers were vague and she refused to go into detail. _

_Right now, both of them were cleaning up the tables together for the next pair of customers._

"_Amos isn't really your brother, is he?" Jessica suddenly asked._

"_What? W-what are you talking about?" Louise stammered._

"_There's no use hiding it. I can tell just by looking at you two." Jessica stated. Louise hanged her head down in defeat._

"_You're a noble too, aren't you?"_

_This question made Louise nearly choke._

"_O-Of course not! Why would I be a noble?" she replied with difficulty, her noble pride getting the best of her. _

"_I knew it!" Jessica said. "You didn't even know how to hold a plate on your first day. That pride and behavior or yours is unusual too. You're obviously a noble."_

"…_Yes." Answered Louise._

"_So? Is Amos your servant or something?" asked Jessica._

"_Y-Yeah, something like that." Replied Louise. _

"_I thought so. Such a quiet man like him couldn't possibly be your brother."_

_This set Louise off._

"_You're wrong!" she yelled. "Amos is… Amos is… like a brother to me." _

"_You really think of your servant like that? That sounds interesting! Will you tell me more?" Jessica asked excitedly. Then she gasped in realization. "Oops! We should really get this done first. Tell me later, okay?" _

_At that moment, all eyes turned to the tavern doors as a __very_ _fat man entered. He was physically ugly in every way and the expensive looking clothes he wore only served to make him look more hideous. Following behind him were several men dressed in red uniforms with black boots and black hats. Although they weren't as ugly as the fat man, they weren't pleasing to look at either. They all had the same lecherous looks on their faces as the scanned around the tavern. _

"_Oh my! If it isn't Lord Chulenne!" Scarron greeted in a forced, polite manner. "How nice of you to stop by tonight!"_

"_Looks like business is good as usual, Scarron." Chulenne remarked._

"_Oh no, today is just a coincidence that we are full." Scarron replied. "Usually, we're so empty that you'd be able to hear a cuckoo cry."_

"_Enough excuses!" Chulenne silenced Scarron. "I have come today as a customer."_

"_Unfortunately, we're full…" Scarron stated nervously. Chulenne grinned evilly. _

"_It doesn't seem that way to me…" he said before snapping his fingers. On que, his guards all took out short staves in preparation to cast magic. All of the customers immediately got up from their seats and ran out of the tavern in fear for their lives. _

_With no one left, Chulenne took a seat._

"_I guess you were right when you said this place was usually empty!" he laughed. "Now, is there no one to serve the serve the Queen's royal tax collector?" _

"_He's the royal tax collector?!" Louise asked Jessica in a hushed, shocked voice._

"_Yeah, his name is Chulenne. We can't do anything against him or else he'll put a huge debt on us. His abuse of the power given to him makes it so no business can last here in the capital. Hen fondles the girls as much as he wants and doesn't pay any tips. One time, it got so bad that one girl was taken and…" _

_Louise covered her mouth in horror as she realized what Jessica was implying. _

"_Hey! Hurry up!" Chulenne called impatiently. Realizing that no one would serve him, Louise made her decision. She grabbed the nearest bottle of wine and the nearest cup and put them on a tray before going over to serve Chulenne. _

"_Oi, Louise! Are you serious?!" Jessica shrieked. _

"_If no one does it then we're all in danger!" Louise explained before leaving Jessica by herself. She then thought to herself, "Besides, this is what Amos and I have been waiting for!" There was no way she was going to let this chance slip by. _

"_Here is the wine, sir." Louise notified Chulenne. This grabbed his attention and he turned to Louise only to be disappointed at what he saw._

"_Since when were boys allowed to work here?" he sighed._

_If one heard closely, they would have heard a glass shatter somewhere at this remark. _

"_B…Boy…?!" Louise gawked._

"_Oh wait," Chulenne said before looking at Louise again. "It's a girl with a flat chest. For a second I really thought you were boy! Now, let me take a closer look at how small they are!"_

_Before his grimy hands could reach Louise, she kicked him straight in the face._

"_DON'T MESS WITH ME!" she screamed, knocking Chulenne off his chair and onto the floor. The other girls screamed at this while Scarron looked pale as a ghost. To raise their hand against this vile man was the same as suicide. They feared which one of them would be the next to be taken away by Chulenne's men._

"_You wench, how dare you!" Chulenne growled as he got up._

"_Please forgive her, she just started working here!" Scarron said as he got between Chulenne and Louise. _

"_Shut up! You want my forgiveness? Then hand over one of your girls if you don't want to face my wrath!" he fumed before eyeing the girls lustfully. _

"_I don't think so!" Louise said before reaching for her wand which she kept hidden under her skirt. A hand grabbed her wrist before she could do so and another took her wand. Louise turned around to see that it was one of Chulenne's men reprimanding her._

"_Boss, I saw this under her skirt!" the guard said as he held up Louise's wand._

"_What's this? You're a noble? Ha! To think that I'd find a disgraced noble here in this run down tavern! Very well! I'm going to enjoy breaking you!" Chulenne promised dangerously. Louise glared at him but there was nothing she could do without her wand. _

_The guard restraining Louise yelled in pain as he was struck in his side. Looking over, Louise saw Jessica._

"_Jessica!" she cried. _

"_Enough! Don't involve anymore girls just to satisfy your sick pleasures!" Jessica said while shielding Louise with her body. Chulenne snorted at this._

"_A peasant dares to order a noble like me around? Very well, I'll settle for you then! Guards, seize her!"_

_The guards eagerly rushed over to Jessica, pulling both her arms around her back with sick grins on their faces._

"_Jessica!" Scarron shrieked in horror. The other girls could only scream in terror as their best friend was going to be taken away and raped at the hands of the man they detest most. _

"_Let me go! Let me go I said!" Jessica demanded as she tried to break free._

"_Shut up!" the guard restraining her snarled before harshly pinning her to the floor. Jessica cried out in pain at her treatment while Louise could only watch on in horror._

"_Jessica!" Louise cried as she tried to go in to help._

"_Don't!" Jessica ordered. "You don't have to get involved in this either!"_

"_But-"_

"_Just promise me you'll pay him back, okay?" Jessica requested before giving a sad smile, giving in to her impending fate._

"_Enough! Let's go boys!" Chulenne commanded. He and his guards turned to leave for the door with Jessica slung over one of their shoulders. Some stayed back to prevent Scarron from reaching for Jessica, his pleas falling on deaf ears._

"_JESSICA!" Louise shrieked._

_Suddenly, a roar of __**pure**__ fury rocked the souls of those present._

_**A few moments ago…**_

I was in deep thought about my nightmare from a few days before as I cleaned the upper floor of the tavern. The one memory I didn't want to remember… I had remembered it: The day when my life changed forever at a great cost. Ever since I held Radon's rifle, I was being reminded of who I was every night. I couldn't escape it, even in this world. It was as if they're telling me that I was going to pay for my crimes soon.

I didn't want to. I wanted redemption, to make up for my sins. There are people who need me here and I couldn't die just yet. I was summoned here for a reason and I intended to live until I figured it out.

My train of thought was broken when I heard shrieks downstairs. I immediately headed down to the main hall only to find it mostly empty with Scarron, Jessica, the girls, and Louise along with other strange people. They all wore the same red uniform with a black hat and black boots. In the center table sat a person who was one of the ugliest people I've ever seen. He was demanding service and eventually one waitress stepped forward.

Louise?!

When she had served him some wine, he made comments about her flat chest and how he mistook her for a boy. That set her off which lead to the man's face full of the sole of her foot. Scarron and the other girls screamed at this but I didn't know why.

Scarron begged him to forgive Louise but the fat man wouldn't hear it. When he demanded that he be given one of the girls in exchange for forgiveness, I knew right away that this was one of the corrupt nobles we were looking for.

Louise was about to take out her wand to fight but a guard managed to stop her and take her wand. He then claimed he was going to take her away to have his men have their way with her. Anger built up inside me and I was about to step in when Jessica interfered instead, her next action shocking me immensely.

She demanded that they leave Louise and the girls alone while shielding Louise from the men with her own body. The memories of the night began to flash in my head again.

The men seized Jessica and pinned her arms behind her back.

_The boy's older sister was pinned down by the much larger men, her arms behind her back._

"Jessica!" I heard Louise cry out. Jessica then told Louise to stay back, not wanting her involved.

"Just promise me you'll pay him back, okay?" I heard Jessica ask.

"_Promise me that you won't come out, okay?"_

The men then turned to leave as I sat there with the light in my eyes completely gone.

"JESSICA!"

"_I love you, Amos."_

…

…

…

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Here's the last bit for the Charming Fairy Tavern episode and then some. Hope you like it.**

**Also, I drew a better version of Amos without his armor. Check it out on my profile**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zero no Tsukaima or Cardfight! Vanguard. **

Chapter 11

_All of the people present to witness the newcomer's outburst backed away in fear as he dashed forward at an incredible speed. As quickly as he came, he seemingly disappeared._

"_W-What?!" Chulenne gaped as he looked around frantically for his attacker._

"_Boss! The girl is gone!" one of his guards said, showing the empty space in his arms where Jessica used to be._

"_Look over there!" another guard said. All eyes turned to the other side of the room to see Amos crouched low with Jessica in his arms, his eyes covered by the bangs of his hair. She looked up at Amos in surprise and gazed at the side of his face._

"_Amos!" she said. "Where did… Where did you come from?"_

"…" _Amos said nothing as his eyes came into view. Jessica let out a small gasp under her breath upon seeing Amos's eyes. No longer were they the bright green she had seen when he first came here or the cold green from the past few days._

_They were full of pure, unbridled rage. Jessica then rubbed her eyes as if she couldn't believe what she saw. For a moment, she thought she had seen strange red markings appear under Amos's eyes. _

"_Amos?" Jessica asked again, this time with a hint of fear in her voice. Instead of responding, Amos stood to his full height and helped Jessica on her feet._

"_Stand back." He ordered coldly. Jessica gulped as she did what she was told, helping Louise up as well._

"_You okay?" Jessica asked._

"_I'm fine." Louise replied. "But I've got to help Amos!"_

_As she tried to get up to go to Amos, Jessica pulled her away. _

"_What are you doing? Let me go!" Louise demanded._

"_He told us to stay back! Just trust him!" Jessica said while dragging Louise to the sidelines over to where Scarron and the other girls were. Both of them were greeted with hugs and tears of joy at their safety._

"_Oh my dear Jessica! Little Louise! You're okay!" Scarron cried while bear hugging both the girls._

"_Dad…! Can't breathe!" Jessica wheezed while Louise's face was turning blue. Scarron released his grip, allowing the girls to catch their breath._

"_So, what's the deal with Amos? He's like a totally different person." Asked Jessica._

"_I don't know. This is the first time I've ever seen him angry." Replied Louise. _

"_Such insolence! Who are you?!" Chulenne demanded while pointing his finger at Amos. His guards readied their wands while Amos simply glared them down._

_Back on the sidelines Louise held her hands close to her chest, her expression a mixture of fear and worry._

"_Get him!" Chulenne ordered his men. They all pulled out their wands and prepared to cast a spell. Before they could do so, Amos quickly lunged in front of one of them and swung his elbow across their face. The guard went down on the floor hard, his head in a daze and few of his teeth missing. Amos's speed shocked the other guards and they stopped in their tracks._

_Turning back to the main group, Amos continued to stare them down in silence which caused some to unconsciously step back._

"_W-What are you fools doing?!" Chulenne spat. "It's only one man! Use your magic already, simpletons!"_

_Snapping out of their shock, Chulenne's men raised their wands once more to prepare a spell. Then, they heard their Lord's enemy mutter a single word in a cold, monotonous voice that sent chills down their spine._

"_Lock." _

**[Insert – PSY Qualia no Chikara]**

_Amos raised his hand and pointed his index and middle finger at the guardsmen. Black rings with a red outline formed around both his fingers before they were launched at the guards' hands. Their hands were bound together, forcing them to drop their wands._

"_What the hell is this?!" one of them panicked._

"_I can't move my hands!" another cried._

_While chaos ensued among them, Amos began to approach them with his fingers twitching at his sides. His presence began to overwhelm the men as their knees began to shake violently. Some were already on down on their knees as they could nothing but stare into the face of death itself. Green eyes as cold as ice stared back at them and beneath them were red markings that made it appear as if he was crying blood._

"_Those markings…" Jessica muttered under her breath. "I knew I wasn't imagining things!"_

_Louise had a different reaction, however._

"_What's going on? I thought he said he couldn't use magic other than the Blaster Blade!" she said to herself._

_With Amos veering ever nearer to them, one of the guards ran toward him in desperation in the hopes of hitting his head with his bound hands. He never got close as Amos's hand met his face mid-way and slammed his head into the floor, shattering the wood. His expression remained neutral and his gaze never left the other guards, scaring them even more._

"_M-Monster!" they began to shout before running toward the exit. Amos extended his fingers once again and uttered a single word._

"_Lock." _

_The same rings formed at his finger tips and launched themselves outward, this time binding the men's legs which caused them to fall on their faces. They were now yelling and screaming like women by this point with tears streaming down their faces. Chulenne was frozen place by the sight of his men at his feet, unable to comprehend what was happening as he could do nothing but watch the carnage that was about to occur in front of him._

_The spectators on the side looked away, not wanting to see the ensuing chaos except for Louise and Jessica._

_The first guard was lifted by the throat before being thrown up to the ceiling, his head shattering wood and his body falling back down like a rag doll._

_The second guard was kicked aside like garbage and was sent flying through the wall._

_Two guards stood up to run but were quickly slammed back into the ground face first with Amos's hands at the back of their heads._

_Finally, with his makeshift barrier that was his guards gone, all that was left was Chulenne was now sitting on the ground in absolute fear._

"_P-Please, don't hurt me!" Chulenne pleaded. His voice fell upon deaf ears as Amos grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up in the air, choking him. Chulenne's voice strangled in the back of his throat as he struggled to breathe, snot and tears pouring out of his nose and eyes._

_Louise had had enough._

"_Amos, stop! You've done enough!" Louise called out. Amos didn't stop and continued to choke Chulenne. Realizing that words weren't enough, Louise ran out toward him._

"_Wait, Louise!" Jessica yelled in an attempt to stop her. Ignoring her, Louise kept approaching Amos until she wrapped her arms around his waist at his side._

"_Enough already…" she choked. "I don't like seeing you like this… Open your eyes, Amos!" _

**[End BGM]**

….

A familiar voice sounded in my head telling me to stop. Whose was it? Who was it that dared to tell me to stop hurting the people who has caused others so much pain? No, they needed to be punished. They have been allowed to run free for far too long. I'll kill them, I'll destroy them_, _and I'll _devour _them until there's not a trace of them left!

Yes… Just like this corrupt man in my hand. Just a bit more and he'll be dead. Just a bit more… More… More…! MORE!

"_Open your eyes, Amos!" _

My eyes widened as I recognized the voice. I dropped Chulenne to the ground where he gasped desperately for air.

"Louise…?" I muttered, looking down to where she was holding onto me.

"Amos?" Louise said while looking up at me.

"What… What was I…?"

Her grip tightened as if she was holding onto me for dear life.

"You were… You were…" Louise tried to speak, her sobs getting the best of her. I sunk to my knees in despair, allowing Louise to hold onto me by my chest. The events that had just occurred mere moments ago were now clear in my head.

I had been Reversed.

It was still inside me, the killer I had become. There was no use denying it for the proof was obvious. My memories had caused me snap just from the sight of Jessica taking Louise's place, just like my sister did. It should have been me that day, not her! What did she do to deserve such a horrible end?! I wanted to cry, to let out this well of emotions building up inside me but the tears wouldn't come out.

I truly had become a monster, one who couldn't even shed tears for a loved one.

_**Later that evening…**_

Louise revealed to Scarron, Jessica and the other girls that she was a noble working for the Princess and that I was a knight working for her. When Jessica had asked why Louise was crying at my actions, she refused to answer. Respecting our privacy, she waved it off and apologized and decided not to touch upon it again. Scarron explained that it was their policy to not care about such things, which Louise appreciated.

With the official document concerning corrupt nobles, Chulenne was swiftly arrested as well as all his men. Thankfully, I didn't kill any of them but they were all badly wounded. I had avoided the worst this time but what if I completely lose myself next time?

Louise and I now stood outside the Tavern, saying our goodbyes.

"It will be lonely here without you, Louise." Jessica said. I had seen how the two became friends in the past few days and it was great to know that Louise made a good friend.

"I'll visit, next time as a customer." She replied. "I refuse to wear that uniform ever again!"

"But it looked so good on you, Little Louise!" Scarron giggled. Louise fumed at this which only led to more laughter by whole Tavern staff.

Jessica then came up to me, taking my hands in hers.

"Thank you, Amos." She said. "If it weren't for you, I'd be…"

"That's right!" Scarron spoke up, his eyes tearing up. "You have my eternal gratitude for saving my daughter from that evil Chulenne's clutches! How could I ever repay you?"

They weren't scared of me? Even after what I had did in front of them? How could they thank me after witnessing what came close to manslaughter? I was envious of their ignorance for it was truly such a blissful thing to have.

"Why?" I asked, garnering confused looks from Jessica and Scarron.

"What do you mean, 'why'?" Jessica asked. "It's only natural to thank someone after they saved a life, no?"

"I nearly came close to murdering someone. How can you be thankful for that?"

They remained silent for a few moments.

"It's true that murdering someone, noble or not, isn't right. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't have been happy to have Chulenne dead." Jessica admitted.

"Jessica!" Scarron exclaimed at her statement.

"But the fact is that you did it to protect others, that's what matters right?" she finished.

If it was to protect others… then it was fine? It was still murder. Those thoughts I had when I was about to choke Chulenne to death were certainly mine. It didn't matter if I was just protecting the weak. You can't protect anyone if you aren't willing to kill, which was the harsh truth. Murder is murder and nothing you do can change that.

Still, I hung onto her words. Even if they sugarcoated the reality, I clung to them like they were my hope.

"Well, I think we'd best get going now." Louise said as she mounted a horse we had procured. I got on after her, taking the front and the reins. With a snap of my arms, we were off with Jessica, Scarron, and the other girls yelling us a farewell.

As we rode along, I felt Louise give my waist a squeeze as she held on.

"Louise." I spoke, which caught her attention immediately. "About what happened… I promise that I'll explain everything, so..."

My grip on the reins tightened.

"It's okay." She said. I froze at her words.

"What?"

"You don't have to tell me everything now. You're… in a lot of pain right now, right? I'll wait until you're ready."

"But-"

"This is an order from your master! Understand?" she cut me off. We then rode in silence, the sound of the wind and horse's steps the only things hanging in the air. Finally, I found my voice to speak.

"Thank you."

I didn't know how, but I knew that Louise was smiling in relief behind me as we rode on.

It was dark by the time we returned to the Academy, barely making the curfew. We put the horse in the stables and immediately headed to the room. Louise was knocked out as soon as she laid face down on her bed and I couldn't help but smile at her while I tucked her in bed properly. I stroked her hair lightly, her breathing becoming more peaceful.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, my smile turning into a sorrowful one.

"You sure, partner?" Derflinger spoke up. "After all that, you're still leaving her alone?"

"Derflinger, did any of your previous partners have a past that they wished not to talk about?"

"Sure did." He replied. "In fact, weren't so much different than you. Although in your case, I've never seen someone cling so desperately to their sanity. The rest ended up killing themselves. I'm impressed."

"How'd you know?"

"You can't anything from me, partner. I'm connected to your runes and they're a part of you so… figure out the rest." Derflinger explained.

"Hmph, then you should already know why I'm doing this." I jested.

"You could at least try to get over it, y'know?"

I clenched my fists before turning toward the door.

"Some wounds aren't healable."

_**The Palace Dungeon**_

_Around the same time as this was happening, Fouquet sat quietly in her cell, the moonlight shining down through the airway and onto her sleeping form. _

_A cloaked man with a mask covering the top half of his face walked up to the bars. This man had long gray hair but the lower half of his face looked youthful, indicating his gray hair color was natural and not a sign of old age. His presence alerted Fouquet, causing her to snap awake._

"_What do you want at this hour?" she asked._

"_I've come to pick up our comrade." The masked man replied while he opened the cell door. Realizing he was from the same organization as she was, her eyes widened in surprise. _

"_You're from the Reconquista as well?" _

"_That's right, Fouquet. Or rather, should I call you Matilda of South Gotha?"_

_**The next day…**_

My eyes fluttered open upon being hit with the rays of the morning sun. I had chosen to sleep outside near the fountain to let the calming sound of running water lull me to sleep. As I tried to get up, I noticed that a blanket had been placed on me. Where did this come from?

"Ah, you're awake, Amos?" I heard a familiar voice ask. Looking over I saw Siesta walking up to me.

"Did you do this?" I asked while holding up the blanket.

"Oh, yes. I was heading back to my room after my kitchen duties when I noticed you sleeping out here. I was going to wake you but you looked tired. So, I brought a blanket!"

"Thank you." I said, handing back the blanket.

"You're welcome." She replied. "Did you just return last night?"

"Yes. I had… a rather rough day yesterday." I said with a hint of sadness.

"You must be hungry! Why not come to the kitchen? I'm sure Marteau would love to cook you something after having not seen you for days!" Siesta suggested.

My stomach growled at that moment, reminding me of my fatigue.

"…That would be nice." I said a bit sheepishly. Siesta giggled at this before helping me up and dragging me over to the kitchen. On our way there I noticed the lack of students around the campus. It was quite literally empty.

"Where are all the students?" I asked.

"Oh, it's the Summer holidays so they're all off school for a few months until the Fall." Siesta explained. It was Summer already? Time sure does fly by fast here. It was also somewhat comforting to know that this world wasn't so different in terms of education with Cray. Summer appears to be staple in taling time off education no matter where you were.

"Why didn't you leave for a break?"

"I still have work to do before I can head back home. Besides, I rather like it here." Siesta said.

"Darling!" I heard a girl's voice call. I turned around and stumbled back a bit to find Kirche burying herself on my chest.

"Kirche." I acknowledged.

"I haven't seen you in days and that's all you have to say? I'm sad." Kirche pouted. "I was sure you went back to Louise's home since you and she haven't been seen in days."

"We were running errands." I said.

I heard footsteps and looked up to see Tabitha coming up to us, her eyes buried in her book as usual.

"I'm sorry Darling, but I have to leave you even though we were just reunited. I'm going to go visit Tabitha's home, so have a nice vacation!" Kirche chirped before releasing her grip on me and taking off with Tabitha following behind her.

"Um," Siesta started, sadness evident in her tone of voice. "Are you and Miss Zerbst close?"

"No." I immediately denied with finality. For some reason, Siesta let out a sigh of relief.

As soon as we entered the outside dining area we were met with Guiche and Montmorency arguing. What did that brat to this time?

"I told you, it's a misunderstanding!" Guiche pleaded.

"I've heard that line way too many times!" Montmorency yelled. "You're lucky I even took the time to see you because you were begging so much!"

Montmorency then stormed off into the school building with Guiche behind her, his pleas falling on deaf ears.

"Montmorency, please! Listen to what I have to say!"

"At least they are keeping this place lively, right?" Siesta joked. Meanwhile, my face was buried in the palm of my hand.

_**Elsewhere in the school…**_

_Montmorency poured and mix liquids of various kinds, their combinations resulting in puffs of smoke emanating from the glass. The room she was in had shelves lined with many different potions and other concoctions that looked dangerous and mysterious._

_She poured one more vial of liquid, completing her potion as it turned an eerie pink._

"_It's done." She said to herself before laughing. "Now Guiche shall have eyes only for me!"_

_**Early that afternoon…**_

_Montmorency was now sitting at a table at the outdoor dining area which was filled with food. She held her potion in her hands as if it were the most precious thing to her. _

"_Montmorency!" Guiche called out, startling her. She quickly hid the potion under her cloak as Guiche came up behind her. _

"_Sorry for calling you out here. I… realized how inconsiderate I was and so I thought I'd invite you to lunch to hear you out." Montmorency said. _

"_I'm happy, Montmorency!" Guiche said, pretending to wipe away tears as he took a seat._

"_Well then, why don't we have a toast first before we eat?" Montmorency suggested. _

"_That sounds wonderful! You truly are brighter and more beautiful than the sun!" Guiche flirted._

'_I'm sure you say the same things to every other girl.' Montmorency thought bitterly. As she poured a glass with their drink she sneakily poured her potion in as well. She then handed Guiche the drink before pouring herself a glass which did not have the potion. _

_Meanwhile, Louise trudged outside sadly with her face long and her gaze cast on the ground._

"_Amos left me alone again…" she said to herself. "Why can't he tell me why?"_

_Her irritation grew and she began rubbing her head with both hands before letting out a frustrated yell. She needed to do something, anything to make herself feel better. Looking over she saw Guiche and Montmorency seated at a table with filled glasses in their hands. Perfect._

_Louise immediately marched on over, catching the two's attentions. _

"_Oh, Louise. What do you need?" Guiche asked._

"_I'm taking this!" Louise declared before swiping Guiche's drink out of his hand and chugging it down her throat. Montmorency looked horrified as she was processing what was happening. _

'_My potion!' she shrieked in her head. When Louise finished drinking, she slammed the glass down on the table._

"_Thank you." She said uncaringly before heading back inside the school, leaving Guiche and Montmorency speechless. _

….

"Thank you for the lunch, Marteau." I thanked the head chef who was laughing heartily.

"It's good to see you again, 'Our Sword!' Remember, you're always welcomed to come for a bite whenever you want!"

He was still calling me that name, but I didn't feel particularly bothered by it. It was amusing to hear myself called something other than Blaster Blade or Amos.

"Don't you think that name is a bit corny, Head Chef?" Siesta asked sheepishly.

"Of course not!" Marteau replied with pride. "He's a swordsman and stands up to those dumb nobles for us! Therefore, he is 'Our Sword'!"

Siesta laughed at this before turning to me.

"It's good to have you back. I… missed you." She said with slightly flushed cheeks.

"It's good to be back." I agreed as I got up to leave.

"Um," Siesta called, making me stop to look over my shoulder at her. She fidgeted in place for a bit as if she was struggling to speak.

"N-Nevermind!" she finally said before rushing off, leaving me speechless and Marteau's face in his hand.

"That girl… Why can't she just come out and say it already?" Marteau muttered.

"Do you know why she's acting like this?" I asked.

"You can't figure it out just by looking at her? I'll leave you to figure it out." He answered with a wry smile on his face before leaving the room. I shrugged my shoulders as I took my leave as well. Louise should have already woken up by now and I'm sure she was looking for me.

After a few minutes of walking, I had made it to Louise's room. I entered to find her lying on the bed, my presence causing her to jolt up.

"Amos!" she exclaimed.

"Louise." I said. "Is something bothering you?"

"Nothing, it's just that…" she trailed off before her body began to wobble back and forth, her face turning red. Was she sick?

"Are you okay?" I checked as I examined her.

"No…" she said… sadly?

"No?" I repeated. "Should we go see the school nurse?"

"No, no, no!" she resisted before pounding my chest with her fists. "Amos, you idiot!"

Now I'm confused.

"I'm sorry?"

"You always leave me alone at night! Why do you always push me away? Can't you see how much I love you?"

I was sure that my eyes were as wide as saucers by now upon hearing that declaration. Louise was now wailing in my chest and I was struggling to decide on what to do.

I heard the door opened and I saw Montmorency peer inside.

"Oh no, I knew it."

_**A few minutes later…**_

Montmorency and I sat down at the table in the room with Louise clinging onto me while sitting on my lap. Guiche was also present since he had followed Montmorency here.

"So the love potion was meant for Guiche?" I asked while glaring over at him. I was disappointed to see that he still had not learned his lesson.

"Yeah, and now Louise is under its effects." Montmorency admitted.

"I'm touched!" Guiche said. "To think you would go so far for my affections…"

"Only because you can't seem to stop flirting with other girls!" Montmorency criticized. Their constant bickering was beginning to annoy me greatly. If he keeps eying other girls then why are you still smitten with him? Teenagers these days…

I think I just implied that I was old.

"Enough." I said sternly, silencing both of them. "So, can you cure her?"

"I could, but I'm missing a key ingredient and it's difficult to obtain." Montmorency replied.

"What is it?"

"A tear of the water spirit."

The water spirit? They have entities like that here?

"I see, so where is this Water Spirit?"

"At Lagdorian Lake in Gallia. It's a few hours from here by horseback." She said. "But I'm not even sure if she will give us the tear. She owes my family a favor, but even still…"

"You have no choice. You're responsible for using an illegal magical substance so unless you want me to report you like I'm supposed to, you will fix this." I reminded her. I normally wouldn't allow things like this to slip, but I understood she was just trying to ensure the one she loves stays loyal to her.

"Fine…" Montmorency gave up. "The day is still young so if we go now we should make it back by nightfall."

"A field trip it is with my Montmorency, how wonderful!" Guiche said with a flick of his hair.

"Very well, let us make haste then."

_**A few hours later…**_

It was late that afternoon as we rode onward to Lagdorian Lake. Even as I rode on horseback Louise would simply not let go of me with that desperate look on her face. Even though she was under the potion's effects, did she really mean what she said back there? Did my absence at night really scare her that much? Then there was her saying she… loved me. Not sure how I'm going to deal with that. Anyway, she was now currently asleep as she snuggled up to chest contently.

Eventually, we came up to a very large lake that was strangely in the middle of the road. The horses we rode stood on their hind legs as they narrowly avoided running straight into the water. We got off our horses with me setting down Louise up against a tree so she could stay asleep.

"Is this the lake?" I asked. For some reason, the lake had these things sticking out of it. They looked almost like…

"Are those houses under the water?" Guiche pointed out.

"How strange, Lagdorian Lake is flooded." Montmorency frowned. "If it's flooded then something must be wrong with the Water Spirit."

"How will we meet it?" I asked.

"It should recognize me by my blood." Montmorency explained. "When I learned I had an affinity for water magic, I came here with my father to form a contract with the Spirit. If it remembers, I'm sure it will come."

Montmorency then pulled out a pouch and opened it, taking out small frog.

"Robin here will deliver my blood to the Spirit." She said.

"That is your familiar?" I asked.

"Right. She's small, but she smarter than she looks."

"She is as radiant as you, Montmorency." Guiche flirted. Montmorency merely gave a snort at this before pulling out a needle.

Just as she was about to draw blood, a tower water erupted from the lake.

"W-What?!" Montmorency panicked.

We all backed up as water rained down from the sudden burst. When the water died down, a large blob of water remained in the air. It morphed and changed shape, as if it was trying to form its body.

"_**It's been a while, Blaster Blade."**_ The blob said. I froze at the mention of my title while Montmorency and Guiche looked at me confusingly.

"Who are you?" I asked the blob.

"_**You should know, Hero."**_ It said before it finally took shape. Before us was a large transparent figure of a serpentine creature with a narrow head and large limbs. It was undoubtedly a dragon but its appearance brought forth a wave of realization on me.

Impossible. He should be dead!

"Maelstrom?" I managed to let out. "You're alive?"

"You know the Water Spirit, Amos?!" Montmorency gasped in disbelief.

"_**I am most certainly alive, as you can see." **_Maelstrom said.

"But you should have died in the war, how did you survive?" I asked.

"Wait a second! What do you mean war?" Montmorency asked in confusion.

"_**Peace, child. The Hero will explain everything." **_

"Hero?" Montmorency repeated as she looked at me.

"Louise and I never told this to anyone, but I'm not actually from this world." I said which garnered shocked looks from Montmorency and Guiche.

"What do you mean? That's preposterous!" Guiche flabbergasted.

"Yeah, something like that is unheard of!" Montmorency agreed.

"Believe it or not, that is the fact." I assured them. "Maelstrom is a Dragon from my world who had supposedly died in a war in my world that I too was a part in."

I then looked back to Maelstrom.

"But never would I have imagined that you had survived and become a Water Spirit in this world."

"_**Yes, I too thought that I had died. After my spirit was taken from my body and placed into another by those dastard Invaders, I was no longer in control of myself. Everything was black until an intense light illuminated around me."**_

This sounded just like what happened with me!

"So then what happened?" I asked.

"_**Before me was a dying spirit of water, barely clinging to life. It pleaded to me that I save it, for it refused to die until it had retrieved what had been stolen from it. And so, I did the only thing I could do: I merged with it."**_

"And by doing so, _you _are now the Water Spirit." I finished.

"_**Correct. I have lost my physical body and a large portion of my power and so now I can only live on as the Water Spirit. I must say that this lifestyle is quite boring. I miss the frontlines of battle." **_

"Wait a minute!" Montmorency interrupted. "You're telling me the Water Spirit was dying and is now merged with you?"

"_**I am now the Water Spirit and I have taken in its powers and memories. Your face is familiar, Montmorency the Fragrance." **_

"Then we have something we would like to ask you for, Maelstrom." I stated.

"_**Ah yes, you want a Tear of the Water Spirit, no?" **_he deduced. Was looking into minds also a power of the Water Spirit?

"Correct, can you supply us with one?" I asked.

"_**As I have said, I merged with the original Water Spirit due to its desire to survive until it recovered what was stolen from it. Right now, I am being attacked by unknown assailants that I'm unable to fight back against. It's humiliating, but I'd like to ask you to stop the attacks. Do so, and I'll give you a Tear."**_

"And in return, you want us to recover what was stolen, right?" I concluded.

"_**Correct." **_Maelstrom replied.

"And what was it that was stolen from you, O mighty Water Spirit?" Guiche asked.

"_**It's called the Ring of Andavari."**_

"The Ring of Andavari?!" Montmorency gasped.

"You know what it is?" I asked her.

"The Ring of Andavari and is a powerful magic item that has the power to control the dead. In short, it gives them a false life." She explained.

"I see, so that is why it was being protected by the Water Spirit." Guiche understood.

"Do you know who stole it, Maelstrom?" I asked.

"_**Based on the Water Spirit's memories, it was by a man named Cromwell. That is all."**_

"We accept the terms." I told Maelstrom.

"_**Excellent. If it's the Hero, then I have no worries. I expect you will finish quickly." **_Maelstrom said before his water body receded back into the water, leaving Montmorency and Guiche gaping at me.

"Why does he keep calling you 'Hero'?" Montmorency asked. "Were you some famous knight back where you came from?"

"Your armor and the way you carrier yourself certainly shows you are a seasoned knight." Guiche commented. I was too deep in thought to reply, however. "Hero" I had not been called that in ages. That's right; Maelstrom had supposedly died before he saw what I had become so he still believes that I'm a hero. If only he knew what had happened, then he'd be appalled at me. I was no hero, I was killer who betrayed his comrades who is now trying to redeem himself in vain.

"Amos?" both of the young mages said, snapping me out of my thoughts. Remembering what they asked, I left them with:

"I'm no hero."

_**Later that night…**_

We discussed what our best course of action to take was and we decided to wait for the assailants at the Lake, no doubt that they would strike at night. Currently, we were camped in the woods nearby with me and rotating on watch duty. Night had already fallen and we were now prepared for anyone who would pass by. If the attackers were able to harm the Water Spirit even underwater then that would mean that they were likely strong Wind mages since Wind magic is the anti-thesis to Water. Water would be useless against Water and Earth and Fire would simply falter before it.

Louise was still asleep, thankfully. Her constant whining and clinginess would be detrimental to this task. Although…

"How much longer do we have to wait?"

"Shut up, idiot! You're too loud!"

"So are you!"

…these two were still arguing. How they could keep it up was a mystery to me but I was quickly growing thin on patience. Before I could shut them up, however, the bushes across from us rustled followed with unfamiliar footsteps.

"They're here." I whispered. Gesturing for them to follow, we snuck behind the bushes to get closer to the source of the noise. Coming from the bushes across from us were two cloaked figures, on noticeably short and the other much taller. The shorter one held a staff that looked familiar but I couldn't make out too much detail due to the darkness.

"Montmorency, I want you to stay by Louise and support us from afar. Guiche, make a distraction with your Earth magic while I flank them." I ordered both of them, my response being quick nods of their heads.

We got into position just as the cloaked figures raised their wands.

"Now!" I signaled. Guiche then caused a wave of dirt to rise and wash over the perpetrators. However, they were on guard and quickly redirected themselves at it. A union of fire and wind magic swirled together and blasted away the dirt. Guiche then continued to send more waves of dirt that were smaller in size, resulting in the two to figures being kept at bay trying to repel them. With the distraction working, I snuck my way around to their backs, my hand already on Derflinger.

"You ready?" I asked him.

"_Always, Partner." _he replied. I leapt out from my position and summoned my armor, Derflinger raised above my head for a downward air slash. To my surprise, the smallest of the pair with the large staff whirled around and blasted me with a powerful gust of wind, knocking me back into a tree. I coughed from the impact and stood up to face my foes who now turned their attention to me.

"_You okay, Partner?" _Derflinger asked.

"Fine." I said. "I didn't expect my presence to be noticed so easily."

Just then, the moonlight moved ever so slightly to shine down on the face part of the hooded people, the lower halves of their faces now visible. With me being much closer, I could now make out more details which made me widen my eyes in surprise.

"Tabitha? Kirche?"

"What?" Guiche gasped.

"Darling?" Kirche said as she and Tabitha removed their hoods. "What are you doing here?"

"That's what I want to ask you. Why are you and Tabitha here? Are you the ones attacking the Water Spirit?" I asked.

"Well…" Kirche started. She looked like she was struggling to find the right words to say. "Tabitha's family asked her to. The water is rising every day and is damaging their territory so…"

"I see." Guiche said. "But surely there's other ways than attacking an Elemental, no?"

"You have any better ideas?" Kirche asked.

"The Spirit is flooding the land because something was stolen from it." I informed.

"What was stolen?" Tabitha asked.

"According to the Spirit, the Ring of Andavari." Montmorency said as she came out of the woods with a sleeping Louise on her back. Tabitha's eyes widened in shock at this information.

"What's that?" Kirche asked. And so, Montmorency explained what it was to her.

"I get it." She confirmed.

"We should tell the Spirit that no more attacks will be held and ask it to lower the water level." Montmorency suggested.

"Agreed."

As if on que, the same pillar of water erupted from the lake, leaving the form of Maelstrom in its wake.

"_**No need for that, young mages." **_He said. _**"I heard everything."**_

"Maelstrom." I greeted.

"_**Thanks for your efforts. I believe I owe you a tear, right?" **_Maelstrom said before a small light emerged from his body and into Montmorency's hands, leaving behind a small vial filled with a blue substance.

"Thank you." I thanked.

"_**No need for that." **_Maelstrom waved off. _**"I trust you'll bring back the Ring. After all, you ARE the Hero of Cray and on top of that, the Gandalfr. How fitting."**_

"That's not true! I'm… no hero." I trailed off.

"_**What do you mean?" **_Maelstrom said before pausing, his glowing ethereal eyes narrowing. _**"You… your soul is heavy." **_

"Wait a minute!" Kirche interrupted. "What's this all about, Amos?" Kirche asked.

"We don't know ourselves." Montmorency said.

"Amos and the Water Spirit both come from another world apparently and knew each other." Guiche informed. "The spirit's name is Maelstrom and Amos is a Hero from his world, or so we're told."

"Oh come on, that's ridiculous! Right, Tabitha?" Kirche said as she looked to Tabitha.

"It's possible." Tabitha disagreed.

"Huh? You actually believe that?" Kirche pouted.

"_**Your name is Amos? Ha! Now I see. To think that the Hero would fall so far… I've missed a lot since I came here." **_

"What do you mean?" Kirche asked Maelstrom.

"_**You will find out in due time, child." **_Maelstrom hinted. _**"Until then, farewell. I'll be watching you, Blaster Blade…"**_

With that, Maelstrom sunk back into the lake laughing as it began to shrink slowly.

"I think I should get to work on the antidote…" Montmorency said awkwardly to break the silence.

"Antidote for what?" Kirche questioned.

"For Louise. She drank a love potion." Guiche said.

"Hahaha! Valliere drank a love potion of all things? I didn't know she was so desperate." Kirche mocked.

After a few minutes, Montmorency finished the antidote and had Louise drink it. I had to convince her to drink it, however, since she kept disobeying everyone but me. And well...

"I CAN"T BELIEVE I WAS DOING ALL THAT!"

Apparently, she remembered everything she had been doing. At least she's back to normal. Honestly, things could have been worse.

"Calm down, Louise." I reasoned.

"A-A-Amos! I-I!" she stuttered while her face was beet red. I raised a finger to her lips to silence her.

"I heard nothing, okay?" I was referring to when she was first under the effects of the potion at her room, when she declared she loved me.

"S-Still!"

"What happened, Valliere?" Kirche asked curiously.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Louise quickly denied.

"Can we go back now? I'm exhausted…" Guiche whined.

"Yes, let's go." I agreed.

_**Louise's Room**_

It was late, but we had returned back to the Academy quickly thanks to Tabitha's dragon, Sylphid. I was impressed with its speed as even most dragons back on Cray couldn't fly that fast. Louise was still stammering over her actions while under the love potion's effects, my attempts to calm her down in vain.

"My reputation is ruined! I bet that Zerbst is spreading rumors right now!" she panicked.

"Calm down, she won't do that." I told her.

"How do you know? Actually, why are you even taking that wench's side?"

I sighed at her counter-arguments as she has been thinking up of things to say against whatever I throw at her.

"_So missy," _Derflinger spoke up. _"Did you really mean it when you said you loved him? Love potions tend to bring out the truth in people y'know!"_

Louise turned red as a tomato at this.

"S-Shut up you stupid sword!" she yelled before throwing a cup at him. I caught it mid-air.

"Calm down, Louise." I repeated.

"I WILL NOT!" she denied like a child. This was going to be a long night.

Just then, the windows opened and a familiar hooded figure flew in.

"Your highness?" I said as Henrietta lifted her hood off her head.

"Princess, what are you doing here?" Louise asked.

"You're as rowdy as ever, Louise Francoise." Henrietta said with a smile before her expression turned serious. "Actually, I have something I'd like to request both of you…"

_**Somewhere…**_

_The room was dark and was lit only by the candles that were lined up on the walls. It looked like a throne room with an ornate purple carpet leading up to the throne itself. A man who was covered by the dark sat upon it, a certain purple ring worn on his finger. Before him was Fouquet and the person who freed her from prison, his features also hidden by the darkness._

"_The time has come at last…" the person who sat on the throne said. "Now go and carry out your assignments."_

"_As you wish, Lord Cromwell." Fouquet said before leaving with the man who helped her escape imprisonment. As they left, an eerie black ring with a red outline glowed behind the throne. The man on the throne smiled at its presence._

"_Everything is going according to plan… Nebula Lord." He said. The black ring's light flared for a moment as if it were pleased. A deep, monotone voice then spoke as if it were a hollow being or a machine._

"_Kill the Prince. For the Void." _

**A/N: I apologize if things feel a bit weird for the last bit for the Tavern part. No matter what I did it just wouldn't feel right to me so I had to eventually settle for something. Hope it wasn't too bad.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: And here we are with the Albion part. Hope you guys like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zero no Tsukaima or Cardfight! Vanguard. **

Chapter 12

"A request?" Louised asked. Henrietta's face became downcast as she looked down at the floor.

"Have you heard news of what is happening right now in Albion?" Henrietta asked.

"Albion?" I questioned, having never heard of the country.

"It's a small nation that floats in the sky." Loiuse informed. "I hear they are currently in a state of civil war."

"Right." Henrietta confirmed. "The nobles have rebelled against the royal family and plan to overthrow them. A vast majority of the peasants have sided with them because they were promised a better rule than the current regime."

"How does this involve us?" I asked.

"I'd like you to go to Albion and meet the prince, Wales Tudor." Henrietta requested.

"You want us to meet with the prince of Albion? Why?" Louise asked.

Henrietta fidgeted in her seat nervously at this question.

"Tristain and Germania have agreed to join forces against the rebels to stop the civil war. However, Prince Wales has a… letter you see. If the rebels were to get their hands on it, it could very well leave Tristain open to an attack." she explained.

"From one letter? How?" I asked. What kind of letter could be so important that it could start a war?

"That's the problem. In order to ensure Tristain's safety… I have agreed to marry the Emperor of Germania."

"What!?" Louise shrieked. "That barbarian of all things!?"

"It can't be helped…" Henrietta said sadly. "We need the alliance but if the word of the letter gets out then the marriage will be dissolved, leaving Tristain without any support."

I was no stranger to political marriages, but even the ones I've seen had standards. Henrietta was still young and the Emperor of Germania was undoubtedly twice her age. But if the letter could stop such a marriage from happening, then that means…

"The letter is for Wales, right? A love letter. It's the only thing that could possibly stop the marriage as it would make you appear unfaithful to the Emperor and the agreement." I said, causing Henrietta to nod her head.

"Yes. I'm actually in a relationship with the Prince already. I've been in love with him for some time now." She revealed.

"I see." Love, huh. I wonder what it was like to be in love. There were many women back on Cray who were strong, beautiful, smart, and anything that a man could ask for. Yet, none of them sparked much interest in me aside from respect for their attributes.

"I assume you want us to retrieve the letter from Prince Wales."

"That's right." Henrietta confirmed. "The other thing I want to ask of you is to convince Prince Wales to escape from Albion. He's very loyal to his country and would rather die than abandon it. I don't want that to happen."

Tears began to well in her eyes.

"So please, I beg of you…"

"We'll do it, Princess!" Louise declared while bowing eagerly. "I swear it on my pride as a Valliere!"

Henrietta smiled in relief before hugging Louise.

"Oh thank you, Louise!" she cried.

"How will we find the Prince?" I asked. "Unless we have valid proof, he'll just suspect us of being spies."

"With this." Henrietta said before taking a silver ring with a small blue jewel off her finger.

Louise gasped upon seeing it.

"The Water Ruby!?"

"The Water Ruby?" I repeated, being unfamiliar with it.

"It's a treasure of the royal family, one of four which were created by the Founder for each of his descendants. These descendants would later come to rule what are now the four nations of Halkeginia: Tristain, Germania, Romalia, and Albion." Louise explained.

"Show this ring to Prince Wales. He has the Wind Ruby, so if these two rings come into contact with each other they will form a rainbow." Henrietta said. "It's symbol dear to both me and him, so he'll know you're not spies if he sees this."

"Understood." I said.

"I'm sorry to ask you two of this… I've already troubled you with finding corrupt nobles and here I am selfishly asking you to risk your lives. But I've no one else to turn to and if Prince Wales dies, then…" she trailed off.

"Don't feel guilty, your highness!" Louise insisted. "I'm always willing to anything you ask! As for the Prince, there's no need to worry. We'll make sure he's safe. Right, Amos?"

Both of the girls looked expectantly at me, a nod of my head being my response. If something this serious was going to happen then I couldn't ignore it. I will use everything in my power to ensure that Tristain would be safe. After all, it was the only I could do to get my mind off of my…

"Oh thank you, both of you…" Henrietta choked in between sobs.

"No more of that, Your Highness." I told her, causing both her and Louise to look at me. "Once this is over, you will have your freedom."

"What do you mean?" Henrietta asked.

"I'll release you from this proxy life so that you can be with the one you love. It's the only way I'll ever be free."

"Free? What are you talking about, Amos?" Louise asked.

"I swear it on this Blaster Blade." I declared while holding Derflinger forward. Both girls looked at me confusedly as they absorbed what I had just said.

"But the alliance with Germania… We still need-"

"You won't have to." I cut Henrietta off. "I'll be more than enough to protect Tristain."

"Are you crazy!?" Louise gasped. "Even you can't stand against an entire army, even if Albion is the smallest of the four nations!"

"I've got nothing to lose." I snapped back before facing back to Henrietta. "Do you trust me?"

"I…" Henrietta started as she stared into my eyes. "I'll trust your word, Sir Amos."

"Hold on a minute!" Louise yelled. "There's a limit to how much you're trying to make yourself look good!"

I faced Louise and she stepped back, my determined eyes seemingly piercing her soul.

"You're… serious?" she let out weakly.

Just then, a sound could be heard at the door which caused us to be alert.

"Who's there!?" Louise demanded. The door then opened to reveal…

"Guiche?" I asked as he walked into the room sheepishly. He then took a knee as he bowed to Henrietta.

"I have heard everything." He said. "Which is why, I, Guiche de Gramont, would like to ask that I assist in this mission."

"Gramont? Then that means you're Marshall Gramont's son?" Henrietta asked.

"Correct." Guiche confirmed.

"To have the Marshall's son assist us… I thank you."

"It is my pleasure, your highness."

"Guiche." I said seriously, catching his attention immediately.

"Yes, what is it Sir Amos!?" he stammered.

"You realize what you're getting into, right?" I asked him. We were about to be involved in a serious issue that could potentially lead to a war. I needed to know his resolve.

"Yes, I do." He replied. "I want to prove to myself that I'm worthy of the Gramont name."

"Why is that?" Louise asked. "All you've been doing is going around flirting with every girl in sight."

"Ahem!" he coughed. "You see, ever since Sir Amos has saved her Highness from Fouquet, my father has been talking non-stop about him. He keeps comparing me to him and how I should be as strong and courageous like a real knight should be. I too, am inspired by Sir Amos and I wish to change."

"You're serious?" I asked as I looked for any weakness in his words. He nodded confidently and I found truth to his claims.

"Very well." I said. "However, remember that you should find your own strength and not someone else's. I'm sure you'll live up to your family way better that way."

"You really mean it, Sir Amos?" Guiche said with watery eyes of joy.

"If the son of the Marshall is helping with this, then I feel much more relieved." Henrietta said.

"Thank you for your words, your Highness." Guiche smiled. "I swear we'll bring your beloved Prince back to you. I'm envious that he is the receiver of your love."

"Oh my, your words are too much, Guiche de Gramont." Henrietta said flattered before looking out the window with longing eyes.

"Being in love is a wonderful thing…"

"How very true are your words, your Highness." Guiche agreed. Henrietta then turned to Louise.

"What about you, Louise Francoise? Do you hold such a man in your heart?" she asked.

"Eh?" Louise blinked with her face pink. "Ah, well… I guess you could say that."

"It must be Sir Amos, huh?" Guiche snickered, earning him a punch in the face by Louise.

"D-Don't be ridiculous!" she denied while Guiche rubbed his cheek tearfully. Henrietta laughed at the display, her tenseness softening.

"And you, Sir Amos? Do you have anyone you love?" she asked, causing Louise and Guiche to look at me curiously.

I froze at the question, unsure how to answer.

"I don't." I said simply.

"Eh? Really?" Henrietta said surprised. "I thought that a man like you would have someone already."

Louise then looked like she realized something.

"Wait. Amos, how old are you?" she asked.

"…Twenty-seven." I answered.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?" all three teens gasped in shock.

"I was sure you weren't that much older than us, Sir Amos!" Guiche admitted. Did I really look younger for someone in their late twenties?

"I'm surprised as well." Henrietta said. What Louise said piqued my interest, however.

"He's the same age as Viscount Wardes…" she whispered, her words seemingly went unheard by the other two mages present.

"Wardes?" I asked her.

"Ah, no! It's nothing!" she waved off with her face pink.

"I think we should all get some rest." Henrietta interrupted. "You three should leave early tomorrow. I've prepared an escort to guide you to Albion."

"Agreed." I said.

_**Early that morning…**_

We got up before the sun rose all packed and ready to go. It was foggy and gloomy and the morning air sent chills down Louise and Guiche who were, oddly enough, lightly dressed.

"Amos?" Louised asked suddenly. "Is there really no one that you like?"

She looked at me with hopeful eyes as she held the reigns of her horse.

"If you mean in the sense that I love someone, then no." I replied. That was the truth, nothing less.

"I see." Louise sighed, almost as if she did it out of relief.

"With someone of your caliber, I would have expected women to flock around you as they do with me." Guiche remarked haughtily, causing an awkward silence for several seconds. Realizing what he did, Guiche sank down as he sat on the back of his horse.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake lightly until something popped out. A familiar large mole that was bigger than Louise stuck its nose out and looked at us with its blue eyes.

"Oh, Verdande!" Guiche cried out before getting off his horse to give the mole a big hug. "I'm sorry I left you behind! You must have been so scared."

"We can't bring her along. She's too large and there's not enough room on the horses." I pointed out.

"She can follow us underground!" Guiche countered.

"Then she'll leave trail. This mission is a secret, remember?" Louise said.

"Please, oh please Sir Amos! Let her come with us!" Guiche cried with fake tears in his eyes. His stubbornness was annoying and I was almost ready to leave him behind with his familiar when it began to trudge toward Louise. It then forced itself on top of her while sniffing her hand.

"Gah! What's wrong with this thing!?" Louise yelped.

"Ah, Verdande must have smelled the Water Ruby. She is very much attracted to rare jewels. Her kind eats rare jewels but I feed her well so there's no need for worry."

"That last bit of information is not exactly comforting to know considering the object in question." I remarked.

"Verdande, get off Louise this instant!" Guiche commanded. The mole wouldn't listen, however, as it continued to go after the Water Ruby.

"Verdande!"

"Get this stupid mole off me!" Louise shouted.

At that moment a powerful gust of wind blew across us, sweeping Verdande off its feet and tumbling several feet away from us. She was now in a daze as she lay on her back.

"Verdande!" Guiche gasped before running over to the mole.

My hand instinctively went to Derflinger as I looked around for our attacker. No one was supposed to know about our expedition. Were we seen?

I heard the unfamiliar cry of an animal overhead, causing us to look up at the source. Descending to the ground was a large griffon with someone on its back. It appeared to be a man wearing a dark blue cloak and a broad-brimmed feather hat. In his hand was a rapier-like wand with a blunt tip that still had swirls of air dancing around it. With all my experience, I knew a strong soldier when I saw one.

"Who are you?" I asked the stranger, still cautious of his strength.

"Forgive me, but I could not sit by and watch my fiancé get attacked by that creature." He replied before lifting up his hat, allowing a good look at his face. He had a youthful face with enough sharpness to show his age, probably around me age. His hair was a natural, healthy gray that was long and he had a neatly trimmed beard.

"I am Jean-Jacques Francis Wardes. A pleasure to meet you."

Wardes? So this is who Louise mentioned. Wait, did he just say he was Louise's fiancé?

"V-V-Viscount Wardes!" Louise stammered as her face turned a light pink. She then proceeded to dust her hair and clothes of any dirt that was there.

"Viscount Wardes!? As in the famous Mage Knight?" Guiche gawked. It appeared he was well known in Tristain considering his status. If he was a mage knight then it all made sense as to why people thought I was one as well when I was first summoned by Louise.

"Who is he exactly?" I asked Guiche.

"Sir Wardes is captain of the Griffon Knights of Tristain, one of Princess's elite forces!" Guiche explained. "But I had no idea he was Louise's fiancé!"

Wardes dismounted his griffon and made his way toward us. He passed by me and Guiche to approach Louise, who was still looking at him shyly. As he passed by me, I noticed we were the same height at 5'11 and of similar build.

"It's been a long time, my little Louise." Wardes greeted with a gentle smile.

"Y-Yes, it has been." Louise replied meekly. It looked like they have some history between them, fond memories since Louise appeared happy at his presence. While I was against a marriage with a large age gap, if they both loved each other then who am I to stop that?

"Pardon the interruption," I called out, making Wardes and Louise bring their attention to me. "but are you the escort her Highness mentioned?"

"That's right, Princess Henrietta herself ordered me to come and accompany you." Wardes then offered me a hand for a handshake. "I believe I already introduced myself, so may I ask your name?"

I took his hand and shook it.

"Amos."

"Ah, so you are Sir Amos." Wardes said. "I have heard many things about you and your deeds."

"Such as?" I asked.

"Well, the fact that you are a Mage Knight like me certainly caused quite a stir. That and saving the Princess's life from Fouquet is something that I must give my utmost thanks for."

"There's no need. We are knights and protecting our rulers is our duty." I replied albeit halfheartedly. I had said that on instinct only to remember that I could hardly be considered a knight anymore.

"I couldn't have said it any better myself." Wardes agreed in delight. "I look forward to working with you, Sir Amos."

"Likewise, Sir Wardes."

After Guiche's familiar recovered from Wardes' attack, we placed the thing on Louise's horse since Wardes insisted she rode with him. Wardes informed that our destination was a town in the mountains called La Nocher. There were ports with ships there that could take us to Albion. It made sense that these ports were in the mountains since they would be the closest to a flying continent like Albion.

As we rode along I could see Louise cast a few glances at me there and then since Wardes took the lead while Guiche and I followed. I wondered why she looked somewhat uncomfortable to be riding with her fiancé but I thought nothing of it. Must have been from not having seen him in a while, or so he and she have said. Besides, all the dots were now connected: She holds a great admiration for me since I am strong Mage Knight in her eyes and I am the same age as her fiancé. I reminded her greatly of him and now that he's actually here she is having trouble adjusting. No matter, this would be good for her to catch up with the one she really loves. It would be no good for her to love me, after all.

We rode in silence for most of the journey, except for a few instances where Wardes struck up a conversation with me. He wanted to know where I came from, what magic I used and such. Needless to say I was rather vague with what I told him since there was no need for him to know in detail. All I told him was that I was from a faraway nation and that I was one of the elite knights. He seemed to have bought it and didn't pry and further.

By the time the sun was setting, we had arrived at La Nocher. The town was interesting in that the infrastructure consisted of stone. Every building was carved out from the mountain which was impressive considering the time it would have took to make so much space. Then I realized it was the work of Earth mages using their talents to make such a town possible.

"Such a lovely town! I've never been more proud to be an Earth mage." Guiche said with pride.

As we made our way through town we had caught the attention of the townsfolk, mainly due to Wardes' griffon. I assumed that such creatures were not commonplace.

We ended up at inn that Wardes apparently made reservations at ahead of time. It was good to know that we had a capable individual accompanying us. I was rather tired myself from riding for more than six hours.

"We'll rest here for the night and continue our journey tomorrow evening." Wardes said.

That was music to all of our ears as we quickly went inside to get ourselves settled. As I was unloading our gear, Louise came up to me nervously.

"U-Um, Amos. Just so you know, my parents decided on this betrothal thing with Sir Wardes." She explained.

"I see. You have a very capable fiancé." I replied.

"E-Er…" she stuttered before speaking in a somewhat angry tone. "That's right! I've always looked up to him ever since I was a child! He had lost his parents when he was young and he worked hard to make his way to become leader of the Magic Guard!"

I froze when she said he had lost his parents at a young age, a few images of that dreadful night flashing again before me.

"Anyway," Louise said. "It's good you and Sir Wardes respect each other but remember your place as my familiar, got it?"

Trying to keep face in front of your fiancé? Understandable. Her sudden change in behavior still confused, however.

"Understood."

After unloading all of our belongings and storing them away, we made our way to the dining hall which looked very much like the Dancing Fairy Tavern. Our table was already laid out with luxurious looking food and drinks and we wasted no time digging in.

"Still, to think you summoned a human to be your familiar. And a Mage Knight no less, Louise." Wardes praised.

"Even you would say that?" Louise answered in disbelief.

Wardes then turned back to me.

"Is it true you don strange armor whenever you fight? All of the reports concerning you mention a never before seen swordsman of justice in shining white armor."

"Correct." I confirmed.

"I see. Well then in that case, I'd like to ask you for a little spar." Wardes said, causing Louise and Guiche to choke on their food.

"Sir Wardes? Are you serious?" Louise said.

"But of course. The ship doesn't leave until tomorrow night anyway. It's boring to just spend time idling around, right?" Wardes told her with a smile.

"A fight between Sir Amos and Sir Wardes would truly be a spectacle!" Guiche beamed.

"You want to test your sword skills against mine." I concluded as I remembered the rapier-like wand he had.

"That's right. It's not every day you get to fight against an accomplished swordsman such as yourself." Wardes complimented excitedly before looking at me confidently. "Of course, I should warn you that I'm no slouch myself."

"I can see that." I said as the thought of a good fight excited me. No one has been able to match me since my arrival so a good fight would be great to polish my skills. "Very well, I accept."

"Excellent. We shall have our fight tomorrow morning."

After dinner we all retired to our rooms with Wardes and Louise sharing a room leaving me a Guiche in another. Guiche insisted that he go out to talk with this girl he saw back in the dining hall and he left in a hurry. By this point, I had given up on correcting this behavior of his. He was a lost cause and I couldn't see why Montmorency still liked him.

I laid in bed to rest with Derflinger at my bedside, my thoughts lingering on Wardes. So far, he has been somewhat of a parallel to me and it was a bit unsettling to me. How could he stay so strong even after losing his parents at a young age? In fact, it seemed like things got better for him while I thought the same was happening to me, only to end up how I am now.

"Something on your mind, partner?" Derflinger asked as he popped out of his sheath.

"Nothing." I quickly brushed off. "Just… a little jealous I suppose."

"Of who? That Wardes guy being with Louise? I thought you didn't see her that way."

"That's not it."

"Then what is it?"

"I guess it's just that..."

_**Wardes and Louise's room**_

_Louise and Wardes sat at the table in their room with filled wine glasses in their hands. Louise's face was turning red from the alcohol while Wardes looked fine._

"_Louise, do you remember when we first met?" Wardes asked. _

"_How could I not?" Louise said as she swayed slightly. Wardes chuckled at her low liquor tolerance._

"_Your father would always compare your magical powers to those of your older sisters. You would then always pout and cry in that small boat in the garden's pond." Wardes recalled while playing with the wine in his glass._

"_Why did you have to bring that up…" Louise sighed embarrassingly. _

"_But even back then, I knew that you have a special power. One that no one else has."_

"_Geez, you're just saying things, Sir Wardes." Louise brushed off._

_Wardes set his glass down before taking Louise's hand._

"_Louise, once this mission is over… I want us to wed." _

"_Eh?" Louise blinked before turning even redder. "But Sir Wardes, haven't my parents already decided on our wedding date?!" _

"_I know this is rather sudden, but I feel that now would be the best time for it." Wardes assured. _

"_But why? What made you think we should marry now?"_

"_Don't worry, just leave everything to me."_

_**That morning...**_

All of us got up early in the morning and ate our breakfast before heading out to large back alley an hour later. Louise and Guiche stood on the sidelines while Wardes and I took our positions across from each other. He drew his rapier-wand while I readied Derflinger.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"That's my line." Wardes said almost playfully.

I took the first move and came at him with an overhead strike. He blocked it and our blades sparked from the impact, forcing me to follow up with an attack from below. My speed surprised Wardes and he was forced to pull his head back to avoid getting hit. Recovering, he began his assault with a flurry and thrusts and side slashes. Even though his sword was lighter and smaller than mine, I kept up with his speed and parried each strike. All this time I was holding Derflinger with one hand even though he was a two-handed sword. After another clash of steel, we backed off from each other to gain distance and catch our breath.

"I must say that I am impressed, Sir Amos." Wardes praised between breaths. "I've never faced a swordsman as skilled as you before. To be able to wield a two-handed blade at that speed with one hand is truly remarkable."

"You are skilled yourself, Sir Wardes. It's been quite a while since I've gotten to experience a swordfight like this." I complimented.

Wind then began to wrap itself around Wardes' sword.

"Why don't we take this up a notch?" he said before pointing the tip of his blade at me and firing a small tornado. I blocked it with Derflinger and the tornado was quickly absorbed. Wardes was clearly shocked at the sight of a magic-absorbing sword and he stood there with his mouth gaping.

I then gathered energy around Derflinger and fired a magic attack of my own by swinging him, forming a crescent-shaped energy wave at Wardes. He jumped out of the way and swung his blade again which sent a large gust of wind that brought me into the air. Using the air to propel himself, Wardes charged at me mid-air with his rapier cocked back. I parried his thrust and swung horizontally, only to hit the air after Wardes ducked underneath it. Both of us swung at each other once more which caused us to fly backwards from the impact. We landed on our feet with our breathing heavy.

The next several minutes consisted of me and Wardes using nothing but our swordsmanship. Metal against metal resounded through the air and sparks flew with each meeting of our blades. We parried, dodged, and attacked repeatedly as if it were a dance. Our assaults were nonstop since we refused to give the other an edge.

With one last sword clash, we backed off from each other and sheathed our swords.

"Ha… I think… that's enough…" Wardes gasped reluctantly.

"I… agree…" I nodded. We were beginning to get too into this and it was no longer becoming just a friendly spar. Our eyes locked with each other for a few seconds and it was as if we both knew what the other was thinking. In fact, we _were _thinking the same thing.

He is my rival.

Wardes then came up to me and offered me his hand.

"You're a great warrior." He said. I looked down at his hand and back to him, a small grin forming on my face.

"You too."

We turned and approached Guiche and Louise who were still speechless at our display. Guiche was beginning to tear up while Louise seemed to have stars in her eyes.

"What a display! Such beautiful sportsmanship between two of the greatest warriors I have had the honor of meeting!" Guiche cried.

Louise ran up to me with a beaming grin on her face.

"You were amazing, Amos! I've never seen anyone fight on equal grounds with Sir Wardes before!" she praised. I nodded in acknowledgment before turning back to Wardes.

"So, what do we do now?" I asked.

"Hmm… Well, since we still have the whole day I suppose we could shop around for more supplies we may need."

"Sounds good." I replied. Wardes then took Louise's hand.

"How about a ride around town, Louise?" Wardes suggested with a smile, causing Louise to blush.

"S-Sure…" she whispered as the two took off. With nothing else to do, Guiche and I followed after them. I informed them that we didn't have much extra food in the event that we camp for several days so we went and bought as much food and water as we could.

I stopped in front of a weapon shop that several blades and other weapons on sale outside. I rummaged around and found small blade that was very lightweight and durable. Perfect. I paid the shop owner and looked around for Louise who was eating lunch with Wardes at a restaurant.

"Louise." I said before handing her the sword. "Here."

Louise gasped in surprise while Wardes raised a brow.

"A new sword?" Louise asked.

"Right. We haven't trained since your old one broke and I saw this."

"Hold on," Wardes spoke up. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Amos trained me in swordsmanship a while back, Sir Wardes." Louise explained.

"I see. And why is it you wanted to learn how to fight with a sword?" Wardes asked.

"I suggested that she should." I answered. "I thought it was important for her to know how to rely on her skills rather than magic all the time."

"You're wrong." Wardes replied harshly, surprising me and Louise. "Louise has no need for such a thing. She has-"

He stopped himself mid-sentence which made my eyes narrow as I looked at him. What was he about to say? It was almost as if he knew that Louise was-

"Forget it, let us be on our way." Wardes said as he got up and left.

"Ah, wait, Sir Wardes!" Louise chased after him.

As I watched the two leave, my thoughts lingered on Wardes. That statement just now was very suspicious. If he truly did know that Louise was a Void mage, how did he find out? Only me, Colbert, and Osmond knew about this. Something strange was going on and I knew one thing for sure.

Wardes couldn't be trusted.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Massive laziness and slight writer's block hit me hard but I'm back and we're nearing the end of Season 1. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zero no Tsukaima or Cardfight! Vanguard. **

Chapter 13

_**That evening…**_

I haven't seen Louise or Wardes ever since they had left the restaurant and it began to irk me. A person as capable as Wardes shouldn't be keeping the people he is escorting waiting, especially when the time for us to set sail is near. Currently, I was waiting on a large balcony the hotel had where I had a great view of the town and evening sky. I had had enough of waiting for them among the townsfolk and left Guiche to watch over the luggage, much to his chagrin.

"I think you're overreacting, Partner." Deflinger suggested. "I mean, that Wardes is the captain PRINCESS's Royal Guard. Why would he be a threat?"

"Did you forget, Derflinger? He seems to be aware of the fact that Louise is a Void mage and that knowledge should only be known to me, Colbert, and Osmond." I pointed out. If Wardes really was just the captain of the Royal Guard, then there's no way for him to have learned about Louise. Before we began our journey, he even claimed to have not seen Louise in years. So how?

"If that's the case, then what does it mean?" Derflinger asked.

"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this."

Suddenly, the earth began to shake and dirt and stones began to gather in one place down below the balcony in the road. The townsfolk nearby panicked and immediately ran away as a massive golem formed.

"We meet again, Gandalfr." A familiar woman's voice said. I turned around to see a woman walking towards me with her hood down.

"Fouquet," I said. "How did you get out of prison?"

"That's not important right now. What's important right now…" Fouquet said before a dark aura began to surround her. My shock grew further when those all-to-familiar red markings appeared under her eyes.

"Is your death!"

There's no way! She was Reversed! How?!

"You…! How?" I muttered.

Just then, Guiche appeared from the hotel halls onto the balcony.

"Sir Amos! What's going on-" Guiche was cut-off midsentence upon seeing Fouquet and her golem. "Fouquet? Sir Amos, what's going on?"

"Take our stuff and get to the ship, Guiche!" I commanded him.

"But Sir Amos!" pleaded Guiche.

"Now!" I yelled before donning my armor. Guiche looked unsure and clenched his fists before nodding his head and left in a hurry.

"How cute," Fouquet commented. "But do you seriously think I'll just let you go to Albion?"

"How do you know about that?" I sneered. "Better yet, where did you get that power? It shouldn't exist here."

"Oh? You are familiar with this power? I must say, it feels amazing. My magic is stronger than ever." Fouquet marveled. "All thanks to our master."

"Who?!" I demanded before slashing at her, firing a sword beam. She jumped high into the air to evade it and landed on top of her golem.

"Now, now," she mocked. "Let's not be too hasty. I'm going to enjoy crushing you slowly."

"I'd like to see you try."

_**Elsewhere…**_

"_Where's Amos and Guiche?" Louise asked Wardes as he secured the last of their luggage onto the griffin._

"_Earlier, Amos said they were going to head back." He lied._

"_What? Why? That doesn't sound like Amos." Louise argued. _

"_Yes, it was quite a shock to me as well but he said that he received word to return to the palace and that a few of us would continue the mission. He gave me whatever supplies he bought and left."_

"_How long ago was this? I'm going to have a word with him! If I leave now, I can catch up!" Louise said before getting off the griffin._

"_Louise, the ship will depart very soon. We don't have time." Wardes sighed._

"_Then you take me to him! Your griffin should be fast enough, right?"_

"_I just told you he was ordered to return." Wardes replied._

"_And I want to know why! He's my familiar and as his master I deserve to know!" Louise huffed before turning to leave. _

"_I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."_

_Wardes hand chopped the back of Louise's neck, causing her world to go dark before she collapsed into his arms. _

"_I've come much too far to have you not cooperate, little Louise."_

…

"Kugh!" I grunted as I skidded backward.

"What's wrong? What happened to all that power you showed me before?" Fouquet laughed.

I underestimated her power. To think the power of Reverse would increase her strength this much… Try as I may, I had no reliable way to utterly destroy her golem. Everything I did was useless because it would simply regenerate thanks to the abundance of earth in this area. To top it off, it was empowered by Fouquet's Reverse magic which made it stronger and much more durable.

What could I do?

Suddenly, a blast of fire hit Fouquet in her abdomen, causing her to shriek in pain. A dragon's cry filled the air and I turned and looked up to see Sylpheed. Riding her was her master Tabitha and Kirche!

"You two…" I started as the landed next to me. "What are you doing here?"

"Darling, I missed you!" Kirche chirped in delight. Tabitha was reading her book as usual, uninterested in anything else.

"You bitch!" Fouquet snarled angrily from atop her golem.

"Well, well, if it isn't the old hag." Kirche mocked.

"Old?! I'm only twenty-three you egotistical kid!"

"What's with the weird make-up? It SO does not look good on you." Kirche noted.

"What's going on over here?"

"What's that?"

A huge group of townsfolk holding up torches began to gather to where we were while chattering amongst themselves.

"Tch! I've overstayed my welcome." Fouquet whispered. "No matter, I've held you here long enough, Gandalfr. Next time we meet, your life is mine!"

Fouquet then jumped high into the air and disappeared into the moons in a cloud of black and red dust.

Held us here long enough? That means-

*Ding, ding, ding*

"What's that sound?" Kirche asked.

"That's the sound of departure!" Guiche pointed out.

Damn it! We missed our flight! That meant that Louise was alone with Wardes and could be in danger!

"Wait, Fouquet said that she held us here long enough," Guiche realized. "Does that mean she was trying to prevent us from going to Albion?"

"She may be in league with Wardes."

"What? Then that would mean…"

"Louise is with the enemy."

"Oh, are you talking about that dandy bearded fellow? Such a shame, I heard about your mission and wanted to get close with him but it looks like I won't get the chance to." Kirche pouted.

"Tabitha." I said, causing her to look up from her reading. "Is Sylpheed strong enough to carry at least one person to Albion?"

"Difficult." She said simply.

"The next flight is not until tomorrow." Kirche informed. "We have no choice but to wait."

I clenched my fists angrily.

"By then it would be too late. There must be something we could do."

Just then, the ground began to erupt below Guiche before toppling him backward. Guiche yelped girlishly as he fell onto his back.

"What in the world?"

A familiar nose stuck out of the hole that was created before sticking its head out entirely.

"Verdande?"

_**Albion**_

_Louise closed Wales's door behind her while staying deep in thought about the flight to Albion until now. Though she was angry that Wardes would do something like knocking her out, she soon forgave him after realizing her error. She promised the Princess that she would complete this mission and her actions back at the hotel jeopardized it. Louise reasoned with herself that Wardes did it for her own good and for the mission and figured she'd be better off with Wardes anyway._

_Right! She didn't that stupid familiar anyway! …Right?_

_Yet, she still couldn't stop thinking about it. Just what exactly did they need Amos back for? It was times like this where she needed his guidance. She had just finished talking with Wales about coming back with them to Tristain to be with the Princess but he had refused. He explained that Albion needed him and that he wouldn't be a proper ruler for them if he didn't lay down his life for his country._

_How was she going to tell this to the Princess? Just then, Wardes came up to Louise and snapped her out of her thoughts. _

"_I assume that is the letter in question?" Wardes asked, looking at Louise's hand which held the letter. Louise turned to him and nodded her head._

"_Then the mission is completed." Wardes then placed his hands on her shoulders. "By the way, I'm going to ask Prince Wales to oversee our wedding."_

"_Eh?" Louise's eyes widened. "We are going to marry here?"_

"_Of course. I'm sure the Prince would be happy to oblige." _

"_It's too sudden! I can't go through with this!" Louise denied before tearing away from Wardes's grasp. "Besides, did you not say that it would be at least after the mission?"_

_Wardes then wrapped his arms around her, this time much tighter than normal._

"_I need you, Louise…" Wardes stated before red markings appeared under his eyes, making his face more sinister. "No, we, the Reconquista need you!" _

"_The Reconquista?!" Louise gasped. "That means… Wardes… you're…!"_

"_You don't have to think about anything, Louise. Just follow me." Wardes said._

"_No way! I refuse to associate myself any longer with you! Especially Albion's enemy!" Louise yelled. She then elbowed Wardes in the stomach, causing him to bend over coughing to catch his breath. Louise then drew the sword that Amos had given her back at the town and put the blade at Wardes's neck. _

_"You are no longer the man I once loved. By my pride as a Valliere and of Tristain, I will bring you to justice!"_

_A blonde man wearing a green robe suddenly appeared and approached them. _

"_I'm afraid I can't let you do that__, you who carries the Void's seed." The man said. _

_"Who are you?" Louise demanded, turning her blade to the newcomer._

_"That's none of your concern... You don't have to think about anything." he suggested before holding up his left fist which had a ring with a purple gem embedded in it. _

**A/N:**** Yeah, I know this chapter was short even though I've been gone a long time. I just wanted to get this one out there so that I can focus purely on wrapping up Season 1 because Season 2 is the one where I have the most ideas. I know there's a lot of people who like my Jurassic Halkeginia story so I'll be working on updating that one. I'm actually rewriting the first chapter for it and adding on much more content to it so it will basically be better than it currently is plus extra content so it's like I uploaded another chapter.**

**I was also thinking of doing a self-insert for Nisekoi and a Devil May Cry/Fairy Tail crossover. If it does happen then I hope you guys like them.**

**Anyways, hopefully the next string of updates won't take so long. I promise the next chapter for Shining Swordsman will be lengthy and nice. **


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